


The Bigger They Are...

by Zeelian



Series: The Eternal Universe - Birth of a Dragon [5]
Category: Fantasy - Fandom, Original Work, Science Fiction - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Magic, Corrupt military organisation, Emotional Baggage, Human Trafficking, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Multi, Non-Consensual Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-08-17 15:05:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 55,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16518797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeelian/pseuds/Zeelian
Summary: As their Hawaii home takes shape Takeshi works with Emelie to teach her to become an even stronger fighter, and help her to learn to use her powers.All while making plans with Matthews to fulfill the Fukushuu by killing those directly responsible for the attack that killed his unit, and taking down the GCTI.





	1. And so the Hunt Begins

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Sweetie, is there anything in particular you would like for your birthday?”  
Takeshi scooted over slightly to make room for Emelie to lie down in front of him in the pile of pillows and in a display of adaptability she quickly wrapped her tail around the neck of the wine bottle to make sure it wouldn't tip while she made herself comfortable next to him.  
“How about you, gift wrapped, and ready to serve my every desire?”  
She practically purred as she dragged a sharp claw down his chest.  
“I think we can arrange that. Anything else?”  
He would definitely have to do something with that little gift request of hers, such an interesting opportunity to tease her was not to be squandered.  
“Mhm, I wanna go Go-karting and make you eat my dust!”

Over the past year Takeshi had learned that his sweet little Emelie was often far from sweet, and had quite the competitive streak at times.  
She hated to lose, but she wasn't a sore loser, instead she would work hard to improve herself whenever she lost any game of skill, and she had little care for games of chance.  
“So we should drop by Ginza and have the tailor look at your riding suit to see if it can't be modified for your wings. And how do you feel wearing a helmet?”  
“Oh... I haven't thought of that... Maybe we should check that first...”  
The instant drop in her mood made him want to soothe her.  
“If you're not comfortable with a helm we can always see if we can find a fox to make you an illusion charm to make your horns look like a helmet. After all, they act like a helmet when you bring them out and are definitely tougher than any helmet you can buy.”

Deciding that there was no time like the present they headed down toward the beach area where a handful of shipping containers were lined up, one of them containing almost everything from the storage unit where Emelie's grandparents had placed her stuff.  
A lot of stuff had been added though, stuff she had bought in Miami and Ginza, and the other containers contained various items that would be needed once the house was done, mostly general furnishings but also some personal items.  
Watching her dig through the various unmarked boxes to try to find her riding suit and helmet Takeshi couldn't resist leaning in slightly and get himself a proper eyeful of a nicely shaped rear end.

She was slim and well toned, but without being skinny, which resulted in some really amazing shapes, narrow waist, wide hips, and a nice plump rump that just begged to be admired combined with a really nice chest and strong shoulders.  
She had a very distinct hourglass body and since her awakening as a demon it had become even more distinct and she had become more muscular, well defined and toned, but not bulky which was typical for demon females.  
Most species had a lot less body fat than humans, and a higher amount of muscle, making them appear naturally toned, with a tendency to drift more toward the ripped side of lean.

“Take... Are you checking my ass out?”  
She obviously picked up on his response to her body, and he hummed a mix of agreement and appreciation that made her turn around and nail him with a rather impressive glare.  
“And here I thought you came here to help me, not ogle me.”  
“Aw, but ogling is so much more rewarding.”  
“If you don't stop ogling and start helping you'll get a chance to find out if that sofa is as comfortable to sleep in as the store clerk claimed.”  
Faced with the threat of ending up in the proverbial doghouse Takeshi found himself unable to resist giving her one last push, to see if she would really go through with the threat.  
“Mmm, beautiful **and** fierce. I like...”  
“Oh that's it buster! You are **not** sleeping in the bed with me tonight!”  
“Hai hai sweetie.”

A small part of him was complaining and urging him to apologize, to beg her forgiveness, but there was a larger, more vocal, part that wanted to see if she would really enforce the punishment.  
And he found himself hoping she would, something told him it would be good if she asserted herself more, that to live at his side she needed to be dominant, a leader, when needed, an alpha, not a submissive beta who always followed his lead.

“Oh, you don't believe me? I'll show you!”  
“Oh, please, do show more...”  
He just couldn't help himself, it was so much fun riling her up, the way her scent shifted and gained an edge of camphor and her aura gained an icy edge that contrasted against his own fire had the most interesting effects on him.  
“Perv...”

The way she stretched, and slightly wiggled her tail, while trying to reach for the top box of the stack in front of her as she spoke made him snicker as it gave him a very good view, he did step up and help her though.  
In retrospect, grabbing her hips and lifting her up may not have been the best way to assist, the moment his clawed hands grabbed hold he was assaulted by a potent peppermint that hid other, nearly odorless, pheromones.  
By the time he set her back down both their breathing was somewhat labored, and his fingers had begun to gently trace lines over her hips which made her gasp slightly.  
When she started squirming under his touch he moved his hands so he was gently pinning her against the stack of boxes, but just as he was about to lean in and start nibbling on her neck she bucked slightly.  
“Take, would you go fetch a few markers and my tab please? I am so not doing this every time I want to get something from here.”  
The sound that followed could only be described as a pitiful whine, but nevertheless he reluctantly took a step back and did as she had asked and by the time they were ready to retire for the night all the boxes were numbered, and all the contents logged into the tablet, and short summary written on each box.  
“So, how does the helmet feel?”  
“It's fine. I guess since my horns aren't sensitive or fragile in any way it doesn't bother me.”  
“Good. That's one less thing to be concerned about.”

Come evening Takeshi was curious about what she would do and when he exited the small bathroom and headed toward the bed he was met by a bristling aura and a sharp glare, she obviously intended to enforce her little punishment.  
“I told you I meant it! Now shoo!”  
It took quite a bit of effort to maintain the _kicked puppy_ look when all he wanted to do was laugh, but he managed to keep it together somewhat as he left and headed to the sofa.  
Fortunately the large sofa really was quite comfortable, he would easily be able to sleep well in it.

It was roughly half an hour later when he heard the door to the master bedroom open and the soft clinking of her clawed feet against the hard floor as she walked across the floor quickly followed.  
He didn't open his eyes, instead he just turned slightly and lifted the light blanked to let her in.  
“You are still in the doghouse.”  
She murmured softly as she burrowed her face against his chest.  
“Hai hai, sweetie.”  
When he leaned in to kiss her forehead she tilted her head back before putting a finger on his mouth.  
“Oh no you don't. Doghouse, remember?”  
This time he groaned in objection, it was one thing when she was in the bedroom, but to have her in his arms and not be allowed to kiss her was pure torture.  
She did take some semblance of pity on him though as she gently pushed him back before giving him a soft kiss.  
“Ah ah...”  
She tutted at him when he tried to return the kiss, and this time he couldn't contain the needy whine and when she deepened the kiss it turned into a low, frustrated growl.

What followed could only be described as sweet torture, she would kiss him, touch him, and make his every sense light on fire, but she did not allow him to reciprocate which quickly drove him to the edge of control.  
After a while she did manage to push him beyond his limit for a moment and she eeped in surprise as he grabbed her and flipped them both over, pinning her beneath him.  
As he struggled not to violate the terms she had set for his punishment she was looking up at him with a somewhat stunned expression, looking at him as if she saw him for the first time, but fortunately there was no fear, just an amazed curiosity and surprise.  
While he struggled to control instincts and reactions that were obviously not human she studied his every expression, the way his aura twisted and shifted, and the way his eyes and fangs seemed to be unable to settle between their human appearance, and the new form granted by the blessing.

Though not really needed around their island home, Takeshi had made it a habit to always force his form into his human appearance, and thanks to the constant training his form no longer reverted to tails and ears, or digitigrade legs unless he wanted it to.  
However the eyes, canines and nails would often go from a human amber to fiery red with fangs and claws if his emotional control slipped.

“Kiss me...”  
Two whispered words and Takeshi shattered above her, leaned down, and kissed her, pouring all the pent up emotions into the kiss, leaving her breathless, and amazed at how much such a deceptively simple action could relay.  
When the kiss finally broke of Takeshi rolled slightly to the side before collapsing and pulling her into his arms.  
Squirming slightly she managed to get the leverage to turn and kiss the underside of his jaw before burrowing her face into his chest again.  
“Love you too.”  
Her whispered words brought out a surge of joy and pride as it told him that she did understand, even though he had yet to manage to find the words to tell her how he felt.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Emelie's birthday quickly came, and passed and before long it was time to visit Amarok and the pack in Alaska to help with the harvesting of mushrooms and berries for the winter stores.

“Oh _trattisar_!”  
Emelie's excited call told them she had found something, though Takeshi had no idea what _trattisar_ was supposed to be.  
“Hmm, what did you find?”  
Looking over her shoulder revealed a large patch of yellow foot mushrooms, indeed a good find.  
“Trattisar! I don't know what the name is in English, but we call them _Trattkantareller_ , Funnel Chanterelle.”  
“Ah. They are usually called yellow foot here.”

Takeshi was mostly looking for the high yield mushrooms such as the various _Bolete_ varieties, _Russula_ , bear's head, chicken of the woods, and the Alaskan gold, the latter was slightly toxic unless well cooked, but not enough to cause any risk to the enhanced physique of the blessed, or Emelie's demonic resilience.  
That didn't mean he wasn't more than happy to add the smaller, delicious morsels to the baskets as well.

“There's caribous meat back at the den, right? And I'm sure I saw some juniper earlier today.”  
“Of course. You have some dish in mind?”  
“Mhm, _Renskavsgryta_. Leaf thin slices of caribou meat, trattisar and thin cut leeks cooked in cream and flavored with juniper berries and served with riced potatoes, or rice. I prefer potatoes though.”  
“Ah, we made something similar from time to time when I lived here. I am sure your version will be more than welcome. I will have to take the Blackout somewhere to get the cream though.”  
They didn't have leeks either, but that was something the Sanctuary could provide  
“Oh, sorry. I didn't think about that, never mind then.”  
“No sweetie, I'm more than happy to head out on a little shopping trip to get you cream and anything else you want.”  
The offer rewarded him with a hug and a kiss before she handed him the full basked and took his empty one and darted away to pick more of the mushrooms that seemed to be abundant in the spot she had found.

As loud as her joy at finding the yellow foot mushrooms had been it was nothing compared to the volumes generated by the finding of golden chanterelle and cloudberries.  
A find of morels had also caused a squeal of delight that had sent half the pack into a mild panic before they realized she wasn't hurt in any way.

“Sweetie, do you need anything else besides cream? And what kind of cream do you want?”  
“I want real cream, none of that fake, low fat, additive laden crap, 40% fat minimum!”  
“Naturally. Anything else?”  
She quickly added a few more things to the list before starting to squirm a little.  
“Okay, what else, come on, spill it.”  
“Well, with the cloudberries we found, I got a serious craving for northern style Swedish Cheesecake, but that's like impossible to get outside of Sweden, and that is way too far to go just to buy some dessert.”  
“How fortuitous then that your mother taught me how to make it.”  
“What?! You know how to make _Hälsingeostkaka_?”  
“Mhm, I do. Your mother loved it and made it whenever she go a chance, and she insisted I should learn.”  
“Please teach me!”  
There was something almost desperate in her voice.  
“Of course. I would be happy to. And I can sense your mother's spirit, she very much wants you to learn and she wishes she could have been the one to teach you herself.”  
When she reached for his chest he undid the ties and moved the cloth aside to let her see and touch the tattoo that held the spirit of her mother.  
“Thanks Mom, for making it possible for me to learn from you, even if indirectly.”  
The surge of emotions from Maria's spirit was somewhat unsettling, but at the same time it caused a strong pride of his own to rise which made him pull Emelie close, and give her a kiss on the forehead, and as usual she huffed slightly at it, but he could feel her relax.

The following morning he headed out in the blackout to buy the items Emelie had asked for along with the milk and rennet needed to make the Swedish version of cheesecake, specifically the _Hälsingeostkaka,_ the version native to _Hälsingland_ , the province sometimes referred to as _Helsingia_ in English.

When he returned he was met by a very happy succubus who instantly raced toward the milk churns.  
“You got real, untreated, milk!?”  
“Of course, your mother insisted it was the best and I just happen to know of a small organic farm that keeps a polled mountain breed very similar to the Swedish _Fjällko_. One that shares it's _κ-casein_ rich milk that is well suited for all kinds of cheese.”  
“Oh, I don't care about that. I just want a big glass of real, cold, milk!”  
Takeshi just laughed and handed her a box that held a smaller churn packed with some crushed ice along with a drinking ladle.  
“I had a feeling that might be the case, just like your mother.”  
“Thanks!”  
“If you are done gorging yourself, how about we make that cheesecake?”

It was a simple dish, just milk, some flour and rennet, the resulting soft cheese-curd was then packed into an oven pan and baked until golden and somewhat firm, then served warm, not hot, with warm milk and a drizzle of fruit or berry syrup, or as many insisted was the proper side, fresh cloudberries, or cloudberry jam.

“Okay, the milk is 37° now.”  
Emelie had been watching over the large pot filled with milk.  
“Good, then it's time to add the flour and the rennet. Start with the flour mix and stir well. Once we add the rennet we need to be gentle with it.”  
Takeshi took her through the process step by step just like how her mother had taught him.  
“What's next?”  
“We need to cut the curd to allow the whey to separate. But remember, be gentle, we don't want to overwork the curd. And try not to spill the whey, your mother taught me how to make this sweet, almost caramel like spread by reducing and caramelizing the whey. I can't remember the name though.”  
“Oh, I know what you mean, it's called _Messmör_.. I have never tried homemade messmör before.”  
The name did sound familiar and Takeshi nodded slowly while settling down to watch over the pot as the curds separated from the whey.  
“It's okay I guess.”  
“You really don't like sweet things, do you?”  
“I'm not a fan, no.”

The conversation drifted back and forth between various topics as they waited for the whey to separate.  
Once enough had separated the curd was transferred to oven pans and allowed to separate further before being baked in the oven until the top was a nice golden brown.

“It turned out great!”  
“Mhm, it did.”  
Takeshi nodded and took another spoonful of warm cheesecake, milk and fresh cloudberries, Emelie was having hers with the jam they had just made though, favoring a bit more sweetness.

At the end of the day it was a far more fulfilling feeling to teach Emelie one of her mother's skills than he had thought it would be, and in a way he felt as if it had brought them even closer, and he decided he would try to teach her a bit about her mother's skill set as a thief.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi was going through the latest intelligence report from Matthews, detailing a wide range of GCTI activities, when there was a soft knock on the door to the small room that served as his study.  
“Take?”  
There was a singsong quality to the way Emelie was saying his name that told him she wanted to ask him for something but was unsure how he would respond.  
“What can I do for you sweetie?”  
She handed him her tab which displayed an ad for a big music show in Houston and he spotted the names of several of the artists she often played music from.  
“Could you buy us tickets for this? I would have done it myself by my card has expired and the bank won't send a new one to non-domestic addresses.”

Takeshi cursed softly to himself, he should have arranged the financial side of taking care of her a long time ago.  
“Of course sweetie. I'm sorry. I should have arranged new accounts and cards for you a long time ago. And see to that you get your inheritance from your mother.”  
“Inheritance?”  
“Mhm, you mother was a rather wealthy woman. Not only from the stuff she stole from various scum, but during our time working undercover for the GCTI we made a lot of money performing various services.”  
“Do I want to know what those services was?”  
“Don't worry sweetie, it wasn't anything too bad. I took care of any assassinations myself, and I refused to kill someone who didn't deserve it at least in some way. We also refused to partake in most forms of trafficking.”  
“It's okay, I really don't care. I know you only did what you had to to stay alive, to protect your loved ones, me included.”

He took a deep breath before telling her what he had decided quite some time ago.  
“As you know, other than your mother, only D had any family alive, and she made it perfectly clear she wanted nothing to do with them after they turned her in, and sold her out to the GCTI.”  
“Mhm...”  
“Well, they all amassed quite a lot of money and valuables, and I have decided to give it all to you. You will inherit all of them.”  
“What..? But...”  
“Don't worry, I have spoken to their spirits about it and they all agree. The only term is that you use some it to support the cause of charities that Shani favored.”  
“What kind of charities?”  
“Charities aimed to protect endangered wildlife, and the traditional lifestyle of the native tribes that is her Kenyan heritage.”  
“Of course! I would be honored to.”  
She quickly reached for Takeshi's chest and he helped her move his clothes aside so she could place her hand over the lilies on his chest.  
“Thanks guys. And thank you Shani for trusting me with your legacy.”  
When the spirits all rose slightly and brushed against her aura Takeshi could pick up the faint scent of her tears so he wrapped his arms around her and waited while she worked through her emotions.

Once she was calm again he gave her a nudge toward the door.  
“Go on, go pack a bag for two weeks. I will make all the arrangements needed to go see this event, then we go collect your inheritance and make the accounts you will need.”  
“Oki!”  
She vanished out the door like oiled lightning and Takeshi was chuckling to himself as he made hotel reservations, and bought the fanciest VIP tickets available.  
The tickets gave them access to a VIP box for the entire 3 days of the event as well as a VIP pit area around the B-stage.  
Each day also included a meeting with one of the bands so he quickly reached out for her familiar.  
_“Sweetie, which 3 bands would you say are your absolute favorites out of those playing there?”  
“Are you buying VIP tickets?”  
“Guilty as charged.”_  
There was an amused annoyance being transmitted by the familiar as she quickly listed the 3 bands she would like to meet and he completed the order.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

When they returned from setting up the accounts and collecting the stuff from the various safety deposit boxes that had held the wealth collected by Takeshi's unit their home had changed quite a bit, during the two weeks they had been away the last part of the walls had been completed and the base of the roof had begun to take form.  
“Wow! It's really starting to look like a house now.”  
“Indeed, a home.”  
The build was progressing slowly due to the complexity of the design, Takeshi's instance on not allowing heavy equipment on the island, and the various layers of security, both mundane and Sanctuary crystal designs.

“A crazy huge home...”  
“That too. I'm not planning for us to live here alone, after all I am a pack creature.”  
“And a polyamorous nymphomaniac...”  
“That too.”  
Takeshi agreed with a laugh before turning serious.  
“But only if you approve. You have my word I will never take a lover without talking to you first, without asking for your permission, your approval.”  
“I know. Your loyalty knows no bounds.”  
“Thank you. For understanding.”  
He kissed her on the forehead and as usual she huffed at him for it, but then her aura was the one to turn serious.  
“Take, there is something I have been meaning to ask. But I am a bit concerned it will upset you.”  
“Please, ask away. Even if it does upset me I promise I will do my best not to hold it against you.”

He watched as she took a few deep breaths to steel herself  
“Your relationship with Sumi, before I came here, it was sexual, wasn't it?”  
Her question made him smile and chuckle softly, while he understood why she had been concerned, he was relieved that it was really nothing that would upset him.  
“Yes, it was.”  
He gave her a few moment to grasp his answer before starting to explain.  
“As the heir presumptive to the Kiryu, Sumi-chan is in a somewhat delicate position. She is expected to marry well, and to give birth to a legitimate, male, heir. As such she has to be very careful about whom she sleeps with.”  
“That is just so wrong! Either one of you would be a perfect heir!”  
He gently shushed her outburst with a kiss before continuing.  
“As Kage I'm expected to not partake in such things, but no one really cares, any children I may father are not considered to be Kiryu unless formally accepted by the Head, or the Council. So I was permitted to take lovers.”

He continued to explain how a Kage was expected to see to every need of their master, including any sexual needs if they had no formal partner, or if that partner was unable to care for all their needs.  
“Three generations ago twin sons were born to the _Gin no Kumo_ , the House of the Silver Cloud, a ryuken family chosen by the Silver Dragon of Mount Fuji. To safeguard the stability of their family the younger brother was made Kage and the elder named heir. But as the brothers grew up the heir found himself uninterested in women, instead drawn to the company of men.”  
“Aw damn, I think I know where this is going.”  
Emelie grumbled, but quickly silenced herself and nodded for him to continue.  
“He managed to perform his duties and sire a child by his chosen wife, but she brought him no relief in bed.”  
“So his Kage, his twin brother, was expected to step in?”  
“Yes, once you are named Kage you are no longer considered to be family. They only rule is that a Master and Kage who are closely related by blood may not beget offspring together.”  
“And since you are not a blood relative of Sumi, no one had any objections to you taking care of her sexual needs?”  
“Exactly, it was expected of me.”  
“That's just so wrong... No one should be expected to do something like that, much less if just ordered to.”  
“Don't worry. I wasn't coerced in any way. We both agreed we needed it, and that it was the best way to solve the _issue_.”  
He told her about the first time they had crossed the line, that fateful night before he left Kasumi's side to join the GCTI.

By the time he was done she was crying against his shoulder.  
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked.”  
“It's okay sweetie. Anything you want to know about me, just ask.”  
“Well, in that case, one more question.”  
“You haven't been intimate with her since we met, have you?”  
“No, I haven't, out of respect for you.”  
“Well, that explains the sexual frustration I'm sensing from her.”  
“Indeed, even I can sense it over the bond.”  
“Then you should go be with her.”  
The way she said it, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world gave Takeshi an odd sense of relief, and pride.  
“Are you sure?”  
“Of course I'm sure. Go on, take care of her.”  
He thanked her then left to find Kasumi, and tell her what had just been agreed upon.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Hawaii Estate 2039

It had taken 3 years to complete the construction of the Hawaii estate but it was finally done, garden and all.  
The time however had not been wasted idly watching, they had trained and plans had been made, and it was now time to move on with those plans and begin the chain of events that would ultimately take down the GCTI.

Takeshi had chosen to put aside his personal vengeance in order to make sure that the GCTI as an organization went down for good, that everyone who had been hurt by them received retribution, if not in life then at least in death.  
He had however sought out and killed the drill instructor who had put him and the other recruits through hell, upholding the promise to feed him the swagger stick.

Most of the time had been spent training Emelie though.  
After her awakening she had asked to be allowed to be a part of taking GCTI down and since she was no longer a fragile human Takeshi had agreed to train her, and if she learned well he would take her with him.  
And she had learned amazingly well, also, with her rebirth as a demon she had gained new instincts and several useful abilities.

She was a skilled flier, with raw demonic energy aiding her she was capable of great speed and agility, the only way Takeshi was able to keep up was by taking the form of the Peregrine Falcon.  
Her massive wingspan compared to her body and her immense power reserve also allowed her to carry several times her own weight while in flight, she could easily dive down and snag him from the ground and carry him off.  
She had also grown highly skilled in using her body as a weapon, she was able to change the nails of both her hands and feet into long curved talons, and each digit of her wings were tipped with a sharp talon.  
She could could form razor-like scales along the front edge of her wings at will, letting her use them as a blade that could easy sever a man's head from his body and she could use her tail like a whip or lasso to grab and trip, and she could harden the tip and use it like a spear to cut or stab.

So far she had not found a weapon she liked however, but it seemed she would not need one, between her natural weapons and the powers she had obtained she was a quite capable fighter and she was proficient enough with handguns as well as the combat knife Takeshi had given her.  
Like the succubi of legend she possessed the power of seduction and nightmares.  
Her seduction exerted an influence over any male around her making them pliable and receptive to her will.  
They would protect her from anything or anyone that would harm her, vie for her favor and even a slight push could drive them into a homicidal jealousy, like a siren's song her voice and touch could mesmerize a man into obedience, it was very similar to Takeshi's _command_ , but it only seemed to work on males.  
It had taken a few months for Takeshi to learn to fully resist the effect of her unconscious _seduction_ and it took quite a bit of focus to remain level headed when she put effort into trying to control him.  
The nightmare aspect of her power allowed her to incite terror, though never fully tested Takeshi suspected she could literally scare someone to death if she put her mind to it and unlike the seduction it worked equally on both males and females.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi was in the Blackout checking on the equipment and supplies, making sure they had everything they would need before heading out.  
“Em _sweetie_ , are you ready?”  
“Yep, I'm good to go as soon as you give me a hand zipping this damned thing up.”  
She popped her head into the cargo compartment of the Blackout and turned her back to him so he could help her close up the upper part of the skin tight catsuit she was wearing.  
Crafted from Kumo-silk it offered some additional protection and the back had a pattern of holes that allowed both her wings and her tail to manifest freely and as an added bonus it worked well to enhance her _allure_.  
He quickly closed and adjusted the straps that held the neck and shoulder area in place and did a quick check of the other straps as well to make sure it was properly adjusted.  
“There, how does it feel?”  
After a few stretches she nodded  
“Fits like a glove.”

She practically purred as she pressed into his side, his arms circling her before he realized it and he noticed the slight tingling along his aura that warned him she was intentionally using her _seduction_ on a slightly higher level than it would normally be.  
“ _Sweetie_ , how do you expect me to be able to fly straight if you do that?”  
“Aw, just let the autopilot do the flying so we can have some _fun_.”  
This time she really was purring and her pheromones spiked as she turned to straddle his waist. He balanced her with a smirk and began walking toward the cockpit, once there he simply dropped her in the co-pilot's seat before giving the tip of her tail a sharp nip with his fangs causing her to yelp and glare at him.  
“Please, my _sweet_ little temptress, we need to focus for this.”  
She responded with a harrumph but settled back and he could feel her _seduction_ subside.

They had a rare opportunity to strike at the heart of the GCTI as a significant number of the top brass were meeting with financial backers, a meeting much like the one in Sydney nearly 20 years ago, only this time he was not there to protect but to destroy.  
Matthews had been unable to give solid confirmation, but chances were good that just like that time there would be the meeting with the official backers first then a meeting with the more shady ones later in the evening.  
The plan was to infiltrate the later of the meetings, subdue the participants using a combination of Emelie's pheromones and Takeshi's _command.  
_Once secured they would question the people there to see who would be best suited to obtain and reveal proof of the GCTI's dirty dealings, those would be forced under a more powerful version of _command_ to act as whistle-blowers, the rest would be killed unless by some long-shot they were unaware of what GCTI truly was, but the chances for someone like that to be at the event at all was low.

It was a quick flight over to Los Angeles where the meeting was being held and before long they landed at a small farm outside the city, the owner was one of many people that had been hurt by the GCTI, his son one of those forcibly recruited that had not survived the training.  
Once they had moved the Blackout into the barn and packed their gear into the bags on the motorcycles that had been placed there for them to use they headed into the city and the hotel where the meeting was being held.  
Hidden in a dark alley Emelie put on her dress for the evening, a long, black cheongsam with a sakura blossom embroidered pattern, the back was open to accommodate her wings and a smaller hole for her tail was worked into the design and as a finishing touch her serpent wove its body into her hair acting like a decorative circlet while allowing them to communicate while Takeshi was in his wolf form.  
Takeshi's apparel for the evening was a bit less luxurious, he was wearing black camo, very similar to what Emelie had put him in when she dragged him with her on her 20th birthday but he to would be wearing something very different for the first part of their little mission and at the moment he was glaring at it as Emelie waved it in front of him with a huge grin.  
To make it easier to get inside while at the same time making sure that some of the guards would be under Emelie's control she would pretend to be blind and Takeshi would pose as her service dog, for her it meant wearing an illusion charm that made her eyes look completely white without any iris or pupil.  
I Takeshi's case it meant wearing the typical harness, though it was custom made to fit his larger form and the placement of the handles modified to compensate for his wolf form measuring well over a meter at the shoulders.

It was almost too easy getting to the conference-suite as the guards were tripping over each other to help Emelie get there and once there they began to scout who was who.  
There were about 20 _investors_ and 10 of GCTI's top ranks present as well as a number of escorts, the women hired to entertain would simply be put under _command_ to forget the event and be sent home.  
Takeshi had a hard time restraining himself as he spotted a familiar face, sitting next to a small stage was Gerard Roberts, he almost didn't recognize him at first, the bastard had not aged well.  
_“Take, what's wrong?”_  
Emelie's aura was tinged with concern as she picked up on the shift in his mood.  
_“That pathetic excuse for a human being is Gerard Roberts.”  
“Wait, you mean that's the asshole that wanted to hurt mom?”  
“It is.”_  
He confirmed silently, a tremor of rage tainting his inner voice.  
_“He is mine!”_  
The serpent managed pretty well to relay the fury in her tone.  
_“If you want him you can have him, as long as he dies I don't care how.”_  
Takeshi's response carried a distinct growl that told of his wavering control.

During their little _conversation_ the men by the scene had spotted them and Roberts immediately moved in to try to approach Emelie which caused Takeshi to snarl and snap his fangs at him.  
“Yakone, behave!”  
Takeshi rolled his eyes at her use of the old nickname Amarok had given him.  
“And you, whoever you are, I suggest you don't come any closer, he obviously does not like you and I trust his judgment.”  
She called out without turning toward Roberts.  
“Now now, don't be like that love”  
She was barely able to suppress the shudder of revulsion at the sleazy tone in his voice and she was glad that a vicious snarl and snap of fangs from Takeshi kept Roberts from putting his arm around her.  
It did however not stop him from taking her hand and start to pull her along toward the tables next to the stage.  
Roberts was nearly able to pull her into his lap but at the last moment she was able to feign tripping and fall into the lap of one of the other men, her instincts told her this one was not a threat to her and as he caught her she prepared to use her abilities to snare him but a quick thought from Takeshi made her pause.  
_“Em, don't!”  
“Why, what's going on?”  
“That's Thomas Matthews, he's on our side.”  
“Okay.”  
_“Yakone, Come here!”  
She called out, feigning worry at not having her service dog at her side, and as Takeshi moved up beside her she could feel the man, Matthews, relax beneath her, he obviously recognized Takeshi and felt safe in his presence.  
Takeshi poked his head into her chest before laying down at her feet, as he did Matthews spoke up.  
“Gerard, that wasn't very nice, you don't yank a blind person around like that. You have the poor sweetheart terrified.”  
He admonished as he moved her a bit so she could sit comfortably.  
“Thank you Mr?”  
“Matthews, but please, call me Thomas.”  
“Thank you Thomas.”  
The sneer on Roberts's face told everyone present just what he thought about the situation and Takeshi growled when he heard him mutter about _worthless whores_.  
As the evening progressed Matthews stayed close to Emelie and Takeshi under the pretense of helping Emelie and introducing her to the various people present, allowing her ample time to exert her influence on them.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

A few hours and an obscenely extravagant meal later one of the GCTI called attention to the small stage and after a short speech he announced it was time for the _special event_.  
As their attention turned to the stage Roberts stepped up to the small podium and announced that it was time for the auction to begin, but when the _merchandise_ was brought out to be presented Takeshi froze at the sight of a group of girls being pushed out from a small room hidden behind the curtains.

The youngest, a pair of twins, looked to be around 5 maybe 6 and the oldest was no older than 15, none of them wearing anything but a leather collar with a number tag attached.  
For a few moments his mind refused to accept the implications but as Roberts began to present his _merchandise_ the truth of it finally sunk in and Takeshi snapped, reaching within he tore away the restraints that kept the beast at bay, inviting it to join him and with a snarl he shed the wolf-form and lunged for Roberts only to be yanked back by Emelie's tail and a moment later he found himself face to face with a furious Succubus in all her glory,

“He is **MINE**! You promised!”  
She all but shrieked at him and her powers washed over him, demanding that he step aside and there was a brief moment where he almost obeyed before his own instincts flared up, demanding that he subdue her and not allow her to challenge him but he was able to push them aside, he had after all promised her.  
Emelie watched as Takeshi wavered under her power for a moment before flashing his fangs at her and silencing her with a savage kiss and she savored the searing sensation of his unrestrained power flowing through her before he broke the kiss of and stepped aside.  
“Then take what is yours.”  
She could hear the presence of the Beast in his voice and feel its chill where their auras touched.  
As she walked toward the stage her power forced the other men in the room to stay back and a quick _command_ from Takeshi made sure the females present closed their eyes and remained still before he stepped up next to her.  
“ **You!** ”  
Roberts was entirely focused on Takeshi as they stepped up on the stage.  
“Impossible! You are dead!”  
He was spluttering and the stench of his fear was overpowering most other scents.

“ _Ladies, girls, keep your eyes closed. This is not something you should see.”_  
Takeshi reinforced the _command_ to make sure they would not witness what was about to happen but to his surprise the oldest of the girls fought the _command_ and tried to look at them.  
He stepped over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.  
“You, you wish to watch, why?”  
“That monster violated my sister, torturing and killing her before my eyes!”  
She was shaking and Takeshi could feel a mix of pain, sorrow, disgust and fury all dimmed by fear shift through her scent and aura.  
“I need to know he's really gone!”  
She practically begged him and he nodded before leaning in and whispered in her ear.  
“Then watch if that truly is your wish.”  
His words released her from the _command_.

While he had spoken to the girl Emelie had advanced on Roberts, using the nightmare aspect of her power she had him cowering behind the podium and with a quick look at Takeshi she confirmed that his _command_ had the others securely under his control.  
“You, Gerard Roberts, are a monster and for all the heinous things you have done you will now die!”  
With a flick of her tail she shattered the podium and wrapped the tail around his neck, forcing him to his knees in front of her.  
She had considered killing him slowly, torture him as he had done to so many women, but as she stood there she saw him for what he truly was, a pitiful creature and she finally understood how Takeshi's inner Beast had felt when it refused to sully it's claws with her grandparents blood.  
“But, you are not worthy of dying by my hands.”  
With a look of utter disgust she reached for her serpent and sent it along her tail and with a quick strike it was over, its potent venom killing within seconds and with a twist she threw the body aside.  
“May this death bring some measure of solace, and closure to the spirits, and families, of all the women that have suffered and died at his hands.”

With the despicable asshole dead, Takeshi focused on the escorts and wiped their memories before sending them away, the girls were sent back into the small room they had come from and asked to wait there and Matthews, knowing what would follow, chose to leave the room as well. Once the innocent bystanders were sent away Takeshi and Emelie made short work of the remaining participants, using their powers at the height of the ability, tearing through mental barriers with little concern for the pain and fear they caused.  
They only took enough care so that they didn't damage the psyche of their victims to the point where they would be unable to perform the tasks they needed them to do.  
They selected one of the GCTI and one of the financial backers to do their bidding and after weaving layers of Emelie's power and _command_ together they released them to spread the information about the GCTI.  
The remaining guests quickly fell victim the shared fury of Takeshi and the Beast within, becoming a release for the pent up rage at what Roberts had done, intended to do, to the girls in the other room.  
It was not a pretty sight, but much to his relief there was no negative reaction from Emelie, only a calm acceptance.  
When she approached him and slowly licked the small splatters of blood from his face he echoed the same feeling back at her, encouraged by the Beast telling him that her actions were appropriate for a demon.  
_**“She accepts us as Alpha, shows us respect and submits to our power.”**_  
_“Don't read too much into her actions. There are many instincts she is unaware of, acting without understanding.”  
__**“I am aware. But you need to learn to trust not just your own instincts, but hers as well.”**_ **  
** The beast offered one of it's rare words of wisdom before retreating to its own little corner of Takeshi's mind, and the seals gently shimmered back into place behind it. **  
**

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With their main objective done they needed to figure out what to do with the girls that Roberts had intended to sell.  
“So, how about we get you girls back home to your parents?”  
Takeshi asked as he stepped into the room, but he instantly regretted his choice of words as he could feel the negative reaction in the girls and his suspicion as to the reason was confirmed when the oldest of the girls spoke up.  
“We don't have any homes to go back to, we are orphans, many of our parents victims of the GCTI."  
Her voice dropped into a  whisper as she glanced toward the twins.  
"I overheard a conversation once. I think they were sold to that monster by their parents.”  
Takeshi took a deep breath to maintain control but a low growl still escaped when he spoke.  
“For what it's worth, I am sorry. Looks like we need to find you girls new homes then.”  
“Can't we stay with you and Wing-Lady?”  
One of the twins piped up and he couldn't resist a smile at her nickname for Emelie.  
“Please?”  
Her sister followed up and Emelie looked at the girls for a moment before speaking up,  
“Well, they have a point Take. We might as well take them in, at least for now. We have plenty of room and while they stay we can look into finding them new homes.”  
With a smile she turned to the twins.  
“And my name is Emelie or Em, not 'Wing-Lady', and Mr Growly over there is Takeshi, but you can call him Take.”  
“Okay, Wing-Lady.”  
They both replied impishly.  
“Well, looks like we have some guests then.”  
Takeshi stated with a smile and the twins instantly cheered up, the other girls were a bit more hesitant.  
“We can't take them all on the bikes so I'll bring the Blackout here on remote.”  
“Wing-Lady, I'm hungry!”  
One of the twins interrupted them.  
“You do that, I'll see if I can find something to eat for them. You girls stay in here, we kinda made a mess out there.”  
Emelie vanished out the door and Takeshi took the sensor-gloves and visor attachment out of his pack and put them on before sitting down in one of the large chairs.  
He never did like using the remote interface to fly the Blackout, the lack of feedback from the controls always felt wrong but a little later he landed it on the small helipad outside the conference suite.  
While he brought the Blackout Emelie had looked for food but the servers had removed all the food during the speech so she had returned empty handed much to the girls disappointment.  
“I'm sorry girls, but I promise there will be plenty of food when get back home.”

“Okay girls, let's go. It's gonna be a bit of a tight fit but I'm sure you can all get along for a while.”  
Takeshi showed them into the Blackout and Emelie helped them getting strapped in, but since the small plane was only made to carry a pilot, co-pilot and six passengers they had to double up a bit on the seats to fit all ten girls.  
Pulling on the bond with Kasumi Takeshi alerted her that they would be bringing guests and she promised to prepare food and spare futons in the sitting room, they could pick their own rooms later.

A few hours later Takeshi set the Blackout down on the landing pad and once the lift system had taken it below ground he and Emelie helped the girls getting out of the seats and guided them through the tunnel that connected with the house.

 

 


	2. Family Lost Family Gained

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Hello girls. If you would come with me there is a nice big meal waiting for you in the garden.”  
Kasumi met the group as they came from the tunnel connecting the house with the underground hangar and after a quick greeting she ushered the girls toward the inner garden where a large meal had been set out on the deck.  
The twins looked rather suspicious though and clung to Emelie, holding on to the tips of her wins, hiding behind them.  
“Go on, go with Sumi-chan, she will take care of you. Take and I need to get a shower and put on some clean clothes.”  
They both had quite a bit of blood on their clothes and the smell was putting them on edge.

“Those girls, especially the twins, I feel like they are meant to stay here, meant to be ours.”  
Emelie poured another bucket of water over Takeshi's head to rinse the suds from his hair, the familiar motions of the traditional Japanese bath routine helping him calm down.  
The soaking part would have to wait until their guests had settled in a bit though.  
“Yeah, I feel the same way. I think this was supposed to be.”  
“Guess it's true what they say, Fate is a cruel mistress.”  
“Indeed. But now they are ours, and we will protect and care for them. And hopefully most of them will chose to stay with us.”  
“You really need this don't you? A family, a pack to call your own?”  
“Yeah, I do...”  
He leaned into her touch and chuckled softly when she took the opportunity to kiss him on the forehead.  
“You know me all too well sweetie.”  
Tilting his head back a bit he savored the soft kiss she rewarded him with before they both got dressed and joined the others.

“Wing-Lady! Doggy!”  
Both the twins bounced out of their chairs and came running when they spotted them.  
“Doggy?”  
Kasumi asked with a laugh.  
“Yeah, those two don't seem to do names.”  
Takeshi responded with a smile which had Kasumi snickering at him.  
“On the topic of names, what's all your names?”

Emelie asked the girls as she took a seat at the table and started piling food on her plate, she had spent quite a bit of her power so she was hungry, but she knew food wouldn't fully sate that hunger, only sex would, but she piled up a big serving anyway.  
While the food wouldn't be enough to fully replenish her it would make it easier to stay in control until she could feed properly from Takeshi.  
She noted that it was mostly light fare, but a lot of it, foods that wouldn't cause too much issues for someone who has not been eating properly for a while.

The oldest was once again the one to speak up for the group.  
“I'm Melissa, That's Amanda, then the sisters Alice and Anne, next is Diane.”  
She pointed to each of the girls on her side of the table before moving on to the next side  
“Carol and Amy are also sisters, and that is Julia.”  
She hesitated for a moment before pointing toward the twins.  
“The twins never told us their names.”  
With the introductions done Emelie turned to the twins with a soft smile.  
“So girls, feel like telling us your names now?”  
“No! We have bad names, can we have new ones?”  
“Please Wing-Lady?”  
Emelie looked at Takeshi and Kasumi and they both nodded for her to pick names for the girls as they seemed to favor her.

“Okay, but you have to promise to try to remember to use our names.”  
“We promise!”  
Emelie thought about what to call them for a moment before continuing.  
“My mother's full name was Sara Maria Eriksson, so how about we name you Sarah and Maria?”  
“Was she a good person?”  
The voice was soft, and hesitant, and it held a pain and sadness that almost made Emelie cry.  
“She was. She was killed by the people that hurt you when she tried to stop them from hurting anyone ever again.”  
She slowly turned to Takeshi.  
“Take, do you think you have the energy to allow my mother's spirit to rise for a moment, to allow them to feel her?”  
“I can manage.”  
There was a diplomatic hint to his answer that told her he didn't really have any power to spare, but would do so anyway for the twins sake.  
“Girls, my mother shared a very special connection with Take here, so when she died a part of spirit was able to stay with him. And by borrowing his strength she can wake up for a while so we can feel her.”  
She carefully moved Takeshi's clothes aside to reveal the lilies.  
“Oh, pretty flowers!”  
“They are, aren't they? Now, you see that one is a slightly different color?”  
“Mhm..”  
“That's my mother's flower, and if you touch it you should be able to feel her.”

Twin hands carefully reached out and touched the tattoo, and soon their eyes went wide in wonder as they felt the spirit within.  
“She's a nice lady...”  
“She said she would be happy to be our Nana!”  
“Well then, I guess you will have to be my little daughters then. Named after my late mother.”  
“Yay! We have good names!”  
Both started dancing dancing around the garden before suddenly stopping.  
“But, who is Sarah and who is Maria?”  
Emelie touched her serpent and whispered something to it before sending it slithering away along the flooring.  
“Whoever catches my little friend there first will be Sarah.”  
Everyone laughed as they watched the twins trying to catch the elusive serpent, but Takeshi, Kasumi and Emelie all knew it would not last, it was Takeshi's _command_ and sheer willpower that was keeping the girls from going into shock and he was draining vast amounts of his power to protect them but he would keep it up for as long as was needed.  
Manifesting Maria's spirit hadn't done him any favors though and his power was waning rapidly.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

After returning from the chase the twins had crawled into Emelie's lap and promptly fallen asleep but the rest of the girls were still refusing to sleep and Takeshi was about to use _suggestion_ to try to make them sleep when the oldest, Melissa winced and pressed her hands against her head.  
“Do you have any painkillers? My head is killing me.”  
She whimpered, obviously in quite a bit of pain.  
Two of the other girls also spoke up asking if they could have some as well and Kasumi headed in to make something for them.  
“We don't have any regular pills, but I can make you something that will work just as good, just give me a few minutes.”  
They all nodded but just moments after she left several of the girls cried out as Melissa collapsed.

Takeshi was at her side in an instant and what he found caused him to to curse in several languages and Emelie carefully untangled herself from the twins and went to see what was wrong.  
“Dammit, I was afraid this would happen!”  
“Whats wrong with her?”  
Emelie wrapped her tail around his arm, the familiar contact calming them both.  
“Withdrawal symptoms, and **very** severe ones. That bastard drugged her with something, probably to keep her under control and keep her from trying to run away. Chances are the other two, maybe even all of them, has been given whatever it was as well.”  
He kept pushing his aura at Melissa, trying to stabilize her and find some way to alleviate her symptoms and prevent them from getting worse but he wasn't having much luck and he could feel her body shutting down.  
“Wait, let me try something.”

Emelie moved closer and sent her serpent down her arm and it carefully sunk its fangs into Melissa's wrist and moments later she seemed to relax a bit.  
Emelie closed her eyes as she spoke to her serpent for a while before bringing Takeshi into the conversation,  
_“It's bad, the bite can only numb her pain but according to the serpent the damage is too severe to heal by any normal means.”  
__**“Only the Blessing can keep her from death. The other two can still be healed by the serpent's bite.”**_ _  
_ Both Takeshi and Emelie paused for a moment as the Mother spoke through the serpent.  
_“I can't just force that on her, she needs to choose for herself.”_  
Takeshi objected for a moment.  
_**“Then speak quickly, even I can not rouse her spirit for long.”  
**_As Melissa's spirit manifested Takeshi quickly explained what was happening and what he would have to do to save her.  
_“Please, I promised my sister I would live.”_

With her choice made Takeshi asked Emelie to cover them before carefully leaning in to make her one of the Blessed and as Emelie's wings manifested around them he bit down at Melissa's shoulder, pulling on the well of power within he channeled it into her body through the wound.  
“Don't worry, he is helping her. She will be fine.”  
He could hear Emelie's voice, and a hint of suggestion in it, she didn't have his skill with the ability, but she could put a bit of power into her words, making the girls listen and trust.  
After a few moments he could feel Melissa's aura shift as the Blessing took hold and her body began to heal, as the marks from the bite faded they were replaced by a dark mark, almost like a tattoo taking the form of a tiny dragon surrounded by flames resting just above her collarbone.  
It took a few minutes, but once Melissa began to wake up Emelie allowed her wings to fade away so that the other girls could see that she was fine.  
“Her senses will be overwhelming, I will take her somewhere quiet until she has a chance to adjust a bit.”  
Takeshi picked Melissa up and brought her to the back of the inner garden to help her get a handle on her new senses, though nowhere near as strong as his or even Kasumi's it was still an unsettling change.

Emelie watched them leave before she turned to the remaining girls and explained a bit of what had happened.  
“Remember how he changed from a wolf into a man?”  
“Mhm, like a werewolf.”  
“That's right. But he's not actually a werewolf though. He's something called a _Blessed_. But you could just call him a shapeshifter. He can take many different forms. And he is much stronger, and much harder to kill than a human.”  
“So he made her like him?”  
“Yes, to save her life.”  
About halfway through the explanation Kasumi came back out carrying a tray with three small cups.  
“I guess we won't be needing these after all?”  
“I don't think so.”  
Emelie said as she turned towards Amanda and Diane, the other two girls who had also been drugged, however they must not have been given as much or for as long because their symptoms were nowhere near as bad.  
“Come here, let's get you two fixed up.”  
Taking their hands she called on her serpent and as it slithered down her arm she explain what would happen.  
“The Blessing is a very big change, and something that shouldn't be done lightly. With Lissa there was no choice, we had to do it to save her life. But for you there are other options.”  
She held out the serpent and allowed them to study it for a bit before continuing.  
“It will bite your hand and inject a very special venom, and I won't lie, it will hurt, but it will make you well again.”  
She explain and they nodded, thankfully Takeshi's calming _command_ was still affecting them, keeping them relaxed but it also allowed them to recognize the truth in her words.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

When Takeshi returned with Melissa an hour later Emelie and Kasumi were still trying to get the other girls to go to bed without much luck, they were still scared and worried about nightmares, about waking up and finding that their rescue had all been a dream.

Emelie reached out and wrapped her tail around Takeshi's wrist as usual but she noticed that something felt off, normally his aura would flare slightly in acknowledgment, a greeting of sorts but she didn't feel anything and when he went to sit down she noticed a slight falter in his step and he swayed slightly before finding his balance and sitting down, causing her to become concerned.  
_“Take, what's wrong?”  
_She kept the question silent so the girls wouldn't notice and get worried or scared.  
_“Nothing, just a bit tired that's all. Giving her the Blessing took a bit more out of me than I had expected, but I'll be fine, don't worry.”_  
He wasn't outright lying but Emelie could tell he wasn't being entirely truthful either.  
Letting her power flow over him she tried to determine just how bad it was and she did not like what she found.

“ _Take, stop. You are not fine, I might not be as good as you at the entire reading auras thing, but I'm a Succubus. I can tell when a guy is running out of gas and you are running on fumes.”  
_She watched as he closed his eyes, his shoulders sagging slightly.  
_“I_ _ **will**_ _be fine! I might be a bit tired right now, but as long as nothing more happens I'll be able to keep them safe for as long as is needed.”_  
She cursed internally at his stubbornness  
_“Take, please. It won't do anyone any good if you push yourself too hard. You need to let off and get some rest.”_  
She tried reasoning with him but she was having little success.

With a sigh she went over to the doorway where Kasumi was sitting,  
_“We need to get these girls to sleep before that idiot kills himself.”_  
She used her familiar to reach out for Kasumi's mind, though somewhat unaccustomed to speaking to anyone but Takeshi in that manner.  
_“They are too scared, afraid they will have nightmares.”_  
Kasumi's mental voice echoed the same concern that Emelie was feeling.  
_“If we can just get them to sleep I can keep any nightmares at bay, you just get him to rest!”  
_Emelie hissed in frustration. _  
“Maybe you should just tell them that, they are still under his command, right?”_  
Emelie felt like slapping herself for not realizing that.  
_“Thanks Sumi-chan.”_  
“Girls, I need you to listen to me for a while.”  
She waved for them to come join her.  
“I know you are scared and don't want to sleep, but I promise we will still be here when you wake up.”  
“I don't wanna sleep, I'm gonna have nightmares...”  
Julia, one of the youngest girls, complained.  
“I promise you won't have any nightmares, I will make sure you don't.”  
The girls nodded silently and she was finally able to usher them inside where Kasumi had prepared futons in the sitting room, using her tail Emelie was able to carry both of the twins without waking them up.

After moving the futons together and helping the younger girls get tucked in Emelie sat down at the edge of the futons and carefully began to weave her power over them and as they fell asleep one by one she wove her powers deeper into their auras, tapping into their dreams, using the nightmare aspect of her power she shielded them from any bad dreams.  
A few minutes after they were finally all asleep she could feel Takeshi coming in to the room and walking over to her.  
_“You are supposed to rest.”  
_She scolded him gently but he ignored her as he sat down behind her and lifted her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her he rested his chin on her shoulder. _  
“I'm sorry I made you worry.”  
_

He didn't say anything else and she realized he had already fallen asleep where they sat.  
No matter how good it felt to have him hold her like that she knew he would not be able to sleep properly like that, so using her tail and wings to aid her she slid out of his lap without waking him and carefully maneuvered him into a more comfortable position before placing his head in her lap.  
Looking down at the face of the man, male, she loved, she was somewhat surprised at how young he looked and when she brushed away a stray lock of black hair he leaned into the touch with a soft sigh and a smile that made her smile in return.  
She decided she needed to watch him sleep more often.  
She slowly settled down into a meditative state to conserve her power, but she didn't stop brushing her fingers through his hair.

The sun was already high when she felt him stir, a quick touch of her tail brought out a flare of his aura, though far from recovered it was enough to make her relax.  
_“The girls?”_  
The tone carried in his his silent question spoke of his concern for the well being of their guests.  
_“Still sleeping. They will keep sleeping until I release my weave.”_  
_“And how are you holding up, using your power on so many for so long?”_  
A teasing nip on the tip of her tail caused her aura to flare slightly giving him a better idea of how much of her strength she had depleted.  
_“I can hold on for a few more hours, but you better follow up on that teasing once they are awake.”_  
She returned his teasing with a brush of her seduction before returning her focus to the girls.  
_“You should eat before I let them wake up, you'll have your hands full when they do.”  
_She gave him a gentle nudge to get up, but he made it perfectly clear he rather stay where he was. _  
“I'm sure I will”  
_There was laughter in his tone as he got up and headed to the kitchen. _  
“I'll make you something as well”  
_A quick squeeze of her tail before letting go relayed her gratitude.

When he returned he carried a tray piled high with some of her favorites; sourdough bread, cold-cut meats, smoked fish, cheese and fruits and a pitcher of ice-cold spring-water and she could tell from the taste of blood on the kiss he greeted her with that he had made short work of their supply of raw meat.  
As she took the tray Takeshi sat down beside her and lifted her into his lap and while she ate to nourish her body, his touch; kisses, nips and scratches of sharp fangs and claws nourished the Succubus soul within.  
When she was done eating she withdrew her power from the girls before twisting around and pouncing on Takeshi and without her power to keep them sleeping the girls soon woke from the tussle that ensued.

When Kasumi looked in on them she was met with a group of wide eyed girls staring at her Kage having one of his usual bouts with his young lover.  
“Okay girls, time for breakfast!”  
She called for their attention.  
She was met with hesitant glances between her and the pair tumbling around on the floor as well as muttered questions.  
“Oh, don't worry about those two, that's perfectly normal behavior for them. But we better get out of here before things become X-rated.”  
She ushered the girls toward the kitchen to help her make breakfast before calling over her shoulder.  
“ _Oi!_ You two! You know you have a bedroom for that stuff, right?”  
Her comment was met with a shove of both their auras, a not so subtle way of telling her _Yeah yeah_ while ignoring her at the same time.  
Shaking her head with a smile she slipped past the girls to show them the way to the kitchen.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With breakfast done Kasumi ushered the girls back into the inner garden where she had them captivated by telling them stories about Takeshi, which caused some amused snickers when Takeshi and Emelie joined them some hour and a half later.  
“Well look who finally decided to join us.”  
Kasumi teased as they sat down on one of the piles of pillows which rewarded her with a full-fanged grin from Takeshi and a flying pillow courtesy of Emelie's tail.  
As the conversations continued Takeshi used a mix of _command_ and _suggestion_ to carefully lead the girls into talking about what they had been through so that they could assess their mental state, thankfully it seemed that Melissa was the only one to have suffered any severe trauma.  
Takeshi would need to use his power to keep her balanced while they worked with her but it wouldn't be any problem with only her as it might have been if more of the girls had needed the additional help.  
Amanda did show signs of repressed memories though so they would have to keep an eye on her, but as she was now she was protecting herself and they would make use of it to try to help Melissa first.

All the girls were still afraid of nightmares though and Emelie would not be able to protect them every night, but her serpent whispered a solution to her, no doubt acting as a mouthpiece for the Mother.  
“Come here girls, I have something to tell you, to show you.”  
Calling on her serpent before speaking Emelie began to explain it to the girls.  
“You remember this cute little thing? It's a very special creature, usually called a familiar.”  
“Like the ones witches have?”  
She didn't see who interrupted her but she nodded  
“That's right. I was given this one so that I can talk to Take when he's not human. But it can do other really cool things too.”  
With a gentle prodding she showed a few of its transformations.  
“There is a room in this house that is home to a lot of different creatures that are also very special. I want you girls to pick one each and I will teach them how to protect you from the nightmares and then they can be your own dream-guardians.”  
She waited for the cheering to subside before continuing.  
“Now, I have to warn you though, they won't keep bad dreams away completely, those bad dreams are needed for you be able to fully heal. But they **will** make sure they don't get really bad.”  
There was some complains but they all nodded their understanding.

Rounding up the girls they brought them to the room that had been turned into a vivarium where all of the animals and plants that the Mother had gifted Emelie with now lived.  
When Takeshi opened the door any complaints were instantly forgotten as they stared wide-eyed at the room in front of them.  
There was laughter and exclamations of both joy and surprise as they explored the vivarium and the various creatures living there.  
“Find the ones you like and bring them to me.”  
Emelie instructed them as she and Takeshi settled at the door, gently catching any creatures trying to sneak out to explore the house..

The twins were the first to come running, each carefully cradling one of the long tailed hummingbirds that reminded Emelie of the Violet-tailed Sylph.  
“Ah, beautiful little creatures for beautiful little girls.”  
Takeshi's teasing compliment was met with huffs and glares, but there was a distinct hint of embarrassed amusement beneath it that told them he wasn't crossing any lines or making them uncomfortable.  
“Come here, give them to me so I can teach them what they need to know to help manage your dreams.”  
Holding her hand out Emelie took the first tiny bird and allowed her power to touch it and with the serpents instructions she wove her power around it before letting the power settle into it.  
She handed the bird back and quickly did the same with the second bird and after handing it back she watched them go back in to look at the other animals.

“They are handling things very well, even under the influence of your power I was expecting more of a negative reaction to all this strangeness.”  
Emelie turned to Takeshi, voicing the questions that had been on her mind since they returned home.  
“They are still children, their spirits are still open to the true nature of the world, to the magic that exists in all of us. And children tend to trust their instincts even if they are not aware of them.”  
“And for some unfathomable reason instincts tell them that you are safe, that you can be trusted.”  
She teased teased lightly before turning back to the vivarium as another girl was approaching.

It was Amanda, the second oldest girl, who was the next one to come to them carrying what looked like a female Chinese Luna Moth, the opaline wings a powdery baby blue and Emelie quickly wove her power into it.

Alice and Anne, the younger sibling-pair came to her next carrying a pair of crabs, both looking like they were carved out of mother-of-pearl, one of them a shimmering white, and the other a deep black.

Julia, the youngest apart from the twins came carrying a rather well sized Frilled Lizard with a spectacular coloring, the vivid oranges, yellows and white combined with deep black and smoky grays shifting slightly made it look like glowing embers.  
“My my, what spectacular lizard you found.”  
“Mhm, he's pretty!”  
“Indeed. They are really fast too.”  
While Takeshi talked to her about the creature Emelie infused it with her nightmare power.

Diane, the 9-year old, came next, carrying a rainbow colored lizard that looked a bit like a Red-Headed Agama and she was having obvious problems keeping track of the quick lizard as it climbed all over her much to the others amusement.  
“Come here little one.”  
Emelie used a pulse of her aura to force the creature to come to her and keep still so she could infuse it as well.  
“How did you get it to stay still?”  
“All living being have an energy around them, an aura, and these creatures respond to that energy. I simply allowed my will to manifest in my aura.”  
“Okay...”  
Her confusion was obvious and had both Takeshi and Emelie smiling at her.  
“Don't worry sweetie, we will teach you how to do it yourself.”

There really wouldn't be any need to though, over the next few days the creatures would bond fully with the girl and they would obey their will.  
They would still have a personality, and mimic natural behavior, so that little lizard would always dart around and be quick and playful, but when needed it would obey Diane.

Carol and Amy, the older sibling-pair both choose snakes, scales shifting in electric blue and purples and sporting the hood of a cobra.  
“A, serpents, my kind of girls. These will be fierce little guardians so make sure to teach them right. Their bite can easily kill if you want it to.”  
Emelie mixed teasing praise with warnings about the abilities of the creatures while she gave them a spark of her nightmare power.

Melissa was the last one to find her familiar, though the blessing would help keep her protected she still wanted one. Her choice had fallen on a parrot with a plumage that appeared to be cut from tiger's eye making it look like the Phoenix of legend.

“Now that you all have your familiar it's time to pick rooms. As cozy as it is to sleep in a big pile on the living room floor it's not very practical.”  
Kasumi was in charge of most of the household activities so they had agreed she would be in charge of getting the girls settled into their own rooms.  
“We get our own rooms?”  
“Of course girls. We have plenty of rooms.”  
“Emmy, where is your room?”  
Maria tugged at Emelie's hand and Sarah was right behind her, eagerly awaiting the answer.  
“I share a room with Take, up there.”  
She pointed toward the central area of the house, where it rose to a 3rd floor.

The house was built a bit like a trapezoid, the middle of the long building was the highest, rising to 3 floors, the 3rd floor area was fairly small though, it was just a master bedroom suite with a nice bath, small sitting room and small study.  
About a third the house rose to 2 floors and the 2nd floor housed a fairly large library, meeting rooms and Takeshi's master study as well as several smaller studies, all but one was currently unused though as Emelie shared with Takeshi.  
The central area of the bottom floor housed the kitchen, dining room, sitting room and a few larger baths as well as a home cinema and a general games room, the rest of the floor formed two wings at a slight angle from the main section together with the semicircle mountain it encircled a fairly large area that formed the inner garden.  
Each wing was divided into several small suites, each suite was a bedroom, small sitting area that could also be used as a study, and an ensuite bathroom with a small ofuro style tub, its small but deep design made it well suited for the small bathrooms.

Emelie had been quite surprised at first at how large the house was, and had been concerned it would look out of place, but now that it was completed it blended into the surroundings, much thanks to the roof garden and the wide range of wines climbing the walls.  
Most of the wines were fruit bearing varieties such as passion fruit, kiwi and grapes, but they were mixed with the flowering jasmine and wisteria as well, the sturdy wines of the wisteria giving support to the more fragile wines, and the jasmine offered it's calming scent.  
They weren't normal plants though, they had all been created in the Sanctuary with the Mother's help, they were hardier, more resilient to pests and immune to disease, they also gave much higher yield than their normal counterparts, flowering and bearing fruit at the same time, all year around.

“Now, the rooms are rather boring right now, they only have the basic necessities and are rather plain, but some plants should help add a splash of color.”  
Each room only had the basic furnishings and were all plain white, but if they stayed, which Takeshi suspected that at least a few of them would, the rooms would be furnished and decorated to their individual taste.  
After noticing that all rooms looked the same the girls quickly picked rooms and Kasumi noted on her tab who picked which room.  
“Sarah, Maria, I think we have the perfect rooms for you two. Come here.”  
Kasumi nudged them toward the end of the corridor of rooms.  
They had looked somewhat hesitant when looking at the rooms and she suspected that they were torn between the closeness of sharing a room, and the luxury of having their own rooms.  
Fortunately they had what would possibly be the perfect solution;  
At the end of each wing was a slightly larger suite that consisted of two bedrooms, two smaller toilets that were joined by a slightly larger twin bathroom and a larger sitting room and a separate study.  
“I think this suite might just be perfect for the two of you. You can get some privacy if you want to, but still be close. And don't worry, while you are expected to clean up after yourself I will help you with the big things.”  
“Wow!”  
“It's cool!”  
“We love it!”  
“Well then, it's settled, these are now your rooms.”

With the rooms picked the girls were ushered to the elevator that lead down into the storerooms to receive bedding, towels and such items while Kasumi explained what parts of the cleaning and such they were expected to do themselves.  
They would have to work out some kind of schedule if they were to stay, but they could worry about that once it was determined how many would be staying long term.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Moving the girls to their own rooms wasn't without issues though, over the next two nights all of them came wandering into the garden at one time or another, afraid to sleep alone.  
But since they had expected something like that to happen Takeshi and Emelie were both resting out there, ready to take care of any wandering children in need of some emotional support.  
The first night all of them had wound up in the garden though, all of them huddled up around Takeshi and Emelie among the pillows that served as a den of sorts.

“Maybe we should expand this area a bit? Allow them to sleep as a pack if that comforts them?”  
Emelie was brushing Takeshi's hair while watching over the sleeping girls and she could feel the way his aura flowed out over the small mountain of pillows, having them all around him obviously soothed some ruffled instincts.  
“I would enjoy that. But as much as it pleases my instincts to sleep as a pack they do need to learn to sleep alone as well.”  
“They do. But do we really need to rush them?”  
“No, you're right. We don't.”  
“So, encourage but not enforce.”  
“Indeed.”  
“Just getting their own place here should help them feel like they belong though. Especially once they have had a chance to decorate their rooms the way they like it.”  
Takeshi responded with a heavy sigh.  
“Shopping...”  
“Indeed. Shopping!”  
She echoed his own words back at him with a brilliant amusement in her voice.

“I'll make arrangements for a trip to Ginza, but first we need to look for any family they may have.”  
He noticed that Emelie's mood instantly dropped so he pulled her closer.  
“I know it's not right, but I really hope you don't find any. I want them all to stay...”  
“So do I sweetie, so do I.”  
He would still give it his best to find any relatives or family, and she knew that.  
“Go on, get some sleep. I'll keep an eye on them until Sumi-chan wakes up. Then you can help her with breakfast while I get some sleep. I'll sort dinner.”  
“Mhm..”  
She just hummed and burrowed her face in the crook of his neck.

A few hours later Kasumi peeked into the garden and when she saw them all sleeping in a pile she tutted at Takeshi with a smile.  
“Em, care to wake up?”  
As always she grumbled when he woke her up, but she quickly detangled herself from the twins and joined Kasumi in the kitchen and just moments later Takeshi was sleeping soundly as the twins scooted closer.

He didn't get to sleep very long though as about an hour later Kasumi called for the girls to get up and help set the table.  
“Aw, poor thing, you look exhausted.”  
Emelie teased gently before offering him a tray with his breakfast favorites and a quick look at the table confirmed that the rice cooker was already waiting, filled with steamed rice, a closer inspection told him that they had gone through the extra work to make brown rice for him.  
“You are spoiling me today.”  
“Jupp, but we expect you to pay it back in kind.”  
Emelie grinned at him as she placed a plate with a fairly large, still steaming, grilled mackerel in front of him.  
With food served everyone sat down to eat.  
_“Itadakimasu.”_  
Takeshi and Kasumi both snickered at the girls attempt to mimic Takeshi's performance of the Japanese version of saying grace.

“What is that?”  
Maria pointed toward the shallow bowl filled with nattō.  
“It's nattō. Fermented soybeans. Would you like to try some?”  
“It looks like snot.”  
“It does, doesn't it? So, you dare try it?”  
He teased her a bit to see if she would bite and at least try, he was fully prepared for her to spit it out with an amusing face though, it was a bit of an acquired taste.  
“Okay!”  
The cheerful reply made him smile as he prepared a bit of rice, a small amount of nattō and topped it with some shōyu and katsuobushi flakes on top.  
“Here try this. It's okay if you don't like it.”  
“Smells iffy...”  
She looked at it with quite a bit of suspicion before taking a spoonful and shoving it into her mouth and slowly chew it.  
When her eyes widened in surprise Takeshi was ready to offer her a paper towel, expecting her to spit it out, but instead she swallowed it and quickly emptied the bowl.  
”Wow! It's good!”  
Sarah was quick to second her opinion and that prompted the other girls into testing it as well, the reactions ranged from a vehement _Yuck!_ to a rather appreciative _It's actually pretty good_.  
Other than the twins only Amanda and Diane asked for proper bowl of it though, but even that was more than Takeshi had expected.

“ _Gochisosama deshita.”  
_With breakfast done Takeshi put his chopsticks to the side and offered the traditional words of gratitude.  
“You guys really outdid yourselves this time, it was amazing. _”  
_“You should thank Em then, she did all of it herself. She even made all the pickles and fermented this batch of nattō herself.”  
“Em?”  
“Mhm... I wanted to do something extra...”  
“Thank you sweetie. You did really good.”  
Pulling her close he let the kiss carry his feelings of gratitude and pride, and soon he detected the slight hint of relief, then pride, in her scent.  
“Still not perfect though?”  
“Well, not perfect to my personal taste. But I'm more than happy to teach you more about my peculiarities when it comes to food.”  
“Can you teach us to cook too?”  
The twins pulled a rather impressive puppy dog eye routine which made Takeshi reach out and give them both a gentle flick on the nose.  
“Of course. But you will have to start with the not so dangerous stuff.”  
There was some pouting, but their true feelings about the matter was revealed by the sparkle in their eyes.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Any luck finding anything?”  
Emelie put her hands on Takeshi's shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze, the twitching muscle and soft sigh encouraged her to squeeze harder though.  
“Not much I'm afraid. And what I am finding... It's bad Em... Really bad...”  
His voice was sad, pained and when she turned his face to make him look at her she could see tears trailing down his face.  
“How bad?”

Takeshi had been working hard to try and find out if any of the girls had any family out there somewhere, but so far he'd had very little luck, Roberts had been thorough in his choice of victims, probably abusing GCTI access to various records to find girls with minimal family.  
In the end the only family he did manage to find was the twins parents and there was no way he would ever allow them anywhere near the girls, just as Melissa had mentioned overhearing, they had sold their own children to Roberts.

“Say what you may about that bastard, but he knew how to be careful, to select his victims and cover his tracks.”  
He brought up the files he had created for the girls, and all the data he had been able to locate.  
“The only family I have been able to find is the twins parents.”  
“Well that's good isn't it?”  
“No... Lissa was right. They sold them Em, sold their own daughters...”  
His tone was soft, so far beyond anger that there was just nothingness left.  
“They're dead.”  
Two words, spoken with ice and steel was all she had to offer and he nodded slightly.  
“Yes, they are.”  
They were in total agreement on making sure the twins parents would end up very dead sooner rather than later.

“Well we should go tell them what we have found out, though, maybe we should just tell the twins their parents are dead?”  
Emelie was concerned about how the twins would react to being told they had found their parents, part of her concerned that they would want to go back to them.  
“No, they deserve the truth.”  
“I guess. I'm just worried about them.”  
“Sweetie, we will protect them, we won't let anything bad happen to them. But I won't lie to them either.”  
Deciding it was time to tell the girls they brought them to the pergola hidden by the waterfall in the very back of the inner garden and Takeshi called for their attention.

“As you know we have been trying to find out if you have any family or relatives out there but unfortunately we haven't been able to find much.”  
There was some mumbling but it seemed most of them had suspected as much, only the twins seemed surprised.  
“Sarah, Maria, we did find your parents, but we also found out some really bad things.”  
“No! Please don't send us back!”  
“They're bad people!”  
The reaction was instant as the twins rushed over to Emelie and clung to her legs.  
“Of course we won't send you to them. Like you said they are really bad people.”  
“Will you kill them like you did the bad men at the hotel?”  
Faced with such a direct question Takeshi saw no reason to try to hide the truth.  
“Yes, we will. They don't deserve to live.”  
He could feel that Emelie was a bit hesitant about telling them so much so openly, but he just gave her tail a gentle pat.  
“Good. Then they can't hurt anyone else.”  
There was a calm finality in Sarah's voice that was far beyond her years, but it gave Takeshi hope that she would recover from the ordeal.  
He carefully nudged her back over to the other girls before telling them what had been decided.

“Since you don't really have anywhere to go other than becoming wards of the state, and either end up in orphanages or foster care. We have decided that if you want to, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you want, as guests, or as family, the choice is yours.”  
The cheering that erupted was loud enough to make all three adults wince and shush them.  
As expected the twins were the ones cheering the loudest as they threw themselves at Emelie and Takeshi.  
“Yay, we have a new mommy and daddy!”  
Takeshi caught them both before they could barrel into him and Emelie and ruffled their hair before pointing at Kasumi,  
“Don't forget the crazy aunt!”  
Both Takeshi and Emelie watched with a smile as they ran at Kasumi.  
“ _Oi!_ Is that any way for a Kage to talk to his Master?”  
Takeshi could feel the contentment radiating from the beast as the girls laughed at his and Kasumi's friendly bickering and when he turned his focus toward it it echoed a single thought to him.  
_**“Pack!”**_  
This time the word brought about a new realization, a new piece of the puzzle that was understanding of just what _Pack_ really was and he returned the single though with one of his own.  
_“Family!”  
_

Once the girls had calmed down a bit he told them of the plans they had made.  
“Now girls, I know you all have been complaining about not having a proper wardrobe and quite frankly we are tired of having to do the laundry every night so we are going shopping.”  
He was prepared for the assault of sound, but it still made him wince.  
“Easy now. It won't be right away. I need some time to make preparations. You all need new ID's and I need to make some convenient travel arrangements as the Blackout isn't designed to carry us all.”  
There was plenty of cheering and eager chattering and Takeshi tried to carefully calm them down.  
“It will probably take a week or two before we are ready to leave. So don't get too excited just yet.”

He was pretty sure he could get it done in under a week, especially since the surprise he had bought for Emelie was being transported from New Zealand, he had ordered them to put a rush on it first thing after they returned with the girls, as a precaution.  
The 50 meter trimaran wavepiercer motor yacht was an impressive vessel, according to it's specification it could carry 24, 12 passengers and 12 crew, but Takeshi had had it rebuilt somewhat.  
The 4 single crew cabins had been rebuilt into storage as Takeshi considered them much too small to be comfortable and the 3 double crew cabins were relisted as singles, reducing the capacity from 24 to 17.  
He had a feeling he would be needing something bigger soon though since most of the cabins were doubles and he had a feeling a bunch of teenage girls wouldn't be to hot on having to share.

“For now I need you to go with Sumi-chan and she will sort out the chores for everyone.”  
The mood instantly turned sour with grumbled complaints.  
“Now now girls. I will make sure that your needs are met, but in return I expect you to clean up after yourself as far as possible, and help around the house. I also expect you to attend some form of education, and to put proper effort into it.”  
There was a bit more grumbling, but they all nodded and agreed it was a fair request.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“We just turned our lives completely upside down, didn't we?”  
Emelie mused with a crooked smile while trailing patterns on Takeshi's chest with sharp nails.  
“Mhm. But it can't possibly be worse than hurricane Emelie.”  
The teasing quip had her huffing at him, but she soon broke down laughing.  
“I really did make quite a mess of your life, didn't I?”  
“Indeed, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Keeps things interesting.”  
He gave her tail a gentle kiss, knowing it wouldn't be enough to tease her into another round, they needed to talk, not screw like rabbits.

“How are you planning to solve the shopping trip?”  
Emelie obviously picked up on his desire to talk.  
“Well, it was intended to be a birthday surprise for you, but I made a few changes to my plans.”  
Rolling over slightly he grabbed his tablet from the bedside drawer and turned it on and brought up the plans for the yacht.  
“You bought me a huge, luxury, yacht?”  
“Umm... Yeah?”  
“Lunatic...”  
The kiss that followed was filled with gratitude that belied her somewhat harsh words, and Takeshi smiled widely at her before handing over the tab so she could take a closer look at her early birthday present.

“It's amazing. What's it called?”  
The question had Takeshi scratching his head, the name had been really dull so he hadn't bothered remembering it since he intended to change the name when he completed the registration after taking possession.  
“I don't remember. It was something really boring. Let's check.”  
Bringing up the papers on the yacht revealed the registered name to be _Mathilda II.  
_“Mathilda? Did he name it after his grandma?”  
Emelie's opinions of the name was if possible even lower than his own.  
“There's an old British tank model that was commonly called the Mathilda.”  
He offered weakly but she just scoffed at it  
“Still a really crappy name for a sweet yacht like this.”  
“Mhm. Do you have anything you would like to name it?”  
She tapped her chin with the tip of her tail as she considered what to call it.  
“I think I would like to call it Tiamat.”  
“Ah, the great dragon of the sea.”  
“Tiamat is also a primordial sea Goddess.”  
“Mhm. A good name for any sea vessel. Tiamat it is.”

“So, where is she now?”  
“She's being transported from the shipyard in New Zealand where I had her refitted and rebuilt a bit.”  
“Oh? What did you change?”  
“Well for starters I replaced all her old combustion engines with electric ones. The current power cells will be replaced with the same kind of Sanctuary crystal generators we use for the house though.”  
“Good, wouldn't want to add to the pollution.”  
“These crew cabins have been changed a bit, removed these small ones and turned them into utility spaces, and changed these to singles.”  
He went through all the changes he had made to the yacht, showing her the before and after plans, he also detailed a few changes he would do once they had it in hand, like adding a layer of sanctuary crystal growth to the hull to strengthen it and give an environmentally safe way to prevent biofouling, the buildup of marine organisms on the hull.

“This is definitely the second best early birthday present I have ever gotten.”  
“Only second best?”  
He was genuinely curious about what kind of gift would have trumped the yacht, knowing her it was probably some childhood memory of a beloved trinket.  
“Mhm. My best early birthday present ever was meeting you.”  
It was not what he had expected, and yet it was totally her which made him laugh and kiss her.  
“Hmpf, I know it's a bit corny, but meeting you is the best thing that has ever happened to me.”  
“Thank you silly.”  
He cut her ramblings off with a kiss before tucking her against his side.  
“Try to get some sleep, those girls will no doubt be a handful now that they can start to feel safer.”  
“Mhm...”

Takeshi was almost sleeping when he felt her tail wrapping tighter around his wrist.  
“I'm scared...”  
“Of what sweetie?”  
He had a feeling he knew what was worrying her though.  
“What if I can't do it? What if I'm a horrible mom? What if I do something wrong?”  
“Don't worry sweetie. We will no doubt all make our mistakes, but we will manage, and we will help each other make sure those girls are well cared for.”  
“I guess... But what if...”  
“No buts, we will manage. Now sleep.”  
Takeshi wasn't worried, he was confident that they would manage, those girls were survivors, they would no doubt handle a few rookie parenting mistakes without any problems whatsoever.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi's prediction about the girls becoming more energetic was spot on.  
As they gradually realized that they really would be allowed to stay on the island they quickly blossomed, opening up and showing their true self.  
The twins more than any of them.  
They were curious and rambunctious, combined with brilliant mind they got themselves into all kinds of trouble.

“Those two really have a whole leash of foxes behind their ears...”  
Emelie's muttered complaint held a good deal of humor.  
“Hmm, foxes?”  
Takeshi was curious to hear her view of foxes, he did agree though, the little rascals were very much like little kitsune.  
“Yeah, there's a Swedish idiom to have _En räv bakom örat,_ a fox behind your ear. It's commonly used in a somewhat negative way to refer to someone who is cunning in a deceitful way. But sometimes it's used about someone who is clever in an impish way. I prefer the latter.”  
“Very similar to how the Japanese view the Kitsune, spirit foxes, then. And I agree, they definitely at least part kitsune.”  
“Why do I have the feeling you have been called that a few times?”  
“I have no idea what you are talking about...”  
Takeshi's mock innocence made her laugh and nod in equally mock agreement.  
“Sure sure.”

“How about we test how they react to seeing us practice?”  
Takeshi ignored her teasing reply and pushed on to the actual reason why he had asked her to join him at the beach, there was some concern about how the girls would react to the weapons, and fighting involved in the adults need to hone and maintain their skills.  
“The gun range?”  
“The gun range.”  
He agreed softly.

“Come here girls! Gather around, there is something important we need to talk about.”  
Emelie called out for the girls while Takeshi headed to the underground storage room where he kept their training weapons and raise the training targets.  
“This area here is very important that you **never** play in. Even out in the water.”  
“Why?”  
“This is where Take and I practice with our guns and we use some pretty powerful ones sometimes that are dangerous even if you are very far away.”  
When Takeshi reappeared he was carrying a fairly large box that he placed on the ground in front of the girls.  
“If you want to watch you need to put these on.”  
The box was revealed to contain some of the earmuffs that had been discarded by Emelie as being uncomfortable, or by Takeshi for not being good enough for his enhanced hearing.  
They were all top of the line protective gear though and would be plenty enough to protect the girls from the loud cracks of the guns.  
Takeshi and Emelie had both ended up using double protection, custom earbuds and top of the line muffs.  
“Lissa, you may want to double up with a pair of these. These aren't made for those with above human hearing.”  
“Thanks...”

With everyone wearing proper protection Takeshi brought out the case with the twin Desert Eagles that he favored and gave them a quick check before loading them and drawing both.  
The sharp cracks that followed startled the girls a bit, but they all watched in amazement as he used the twin guns to decimate the targets.  
“Hmpf, Showoff!”  
Emelie scolded him slightly when he was done but he just smiled at her before bringing both guns up for the classic gunslinger blow, spin & holster finish, it really didn't work too well with his shoulder holsters though.  
The girls seemed to love it though as they all laughed when he was done spinning the guns and made the motion to holster them only to put them in the pockets of his pants as he had no way of putting them back in the shoulder holsters in any even remotely natural way.  
It was his way of admitting he was showing off though, normally he would only use one gun at a time, using the second one as a backup, he was quite capable of firing both if needed though, the decrease in accuracy was within tolerable limits.  
Using his other senses allowed him to keep fairly accurate track of a secondary target even if it wasn't within his visual focus range, which was wider than a normal human's.  
Emelie's teasing marking of his shots, putting big red rings around the 8s and 9s, and big double arrow on the 7 was a good reminder why he rarely used both guns at the same time even if he always carried two.  
“How about you show them how it's really done?”  
She handed him two fresh magazines and he quickly reloaded and holstered the guns before taking a comfortable stance, going for accuracy over showmanship.

He was relieved to see that a few of the girls did show some interest in learning how to shoot, he was hoping to teach all of them how to defend themselves, both unarmed and with weapons, and that would be a much easier task if they showed some interest in learning.

It was just a few days later when Takeshi got the call that the _Tiamat_ was ready for inspection, and satisfied with the work he brought her to the island while the girls were sleeping, ready to reveal her in the morning.

 

 

 

 


	3. Return to Ginza

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

The timing of the Tiamat's arrival was perfect as Takeshi had completed the last of the preparations the same day as she arrived.  
It had taken almost a week to get everything ready for their little _shopping-trip_ , new identities had been arranged for the girls complete with all the documents and entries into various computer-systems, reservations had been made at various top of the line stores as well as a selection of restaurants but now it was finally time to head out.  
Kasumi however would be staying behind looking after the estate, and staying out of the public eye, where they were going the risk of her being recognized was far too great, despite her looking 20 again.  
She was able to use her shift to make herself look the proper age, but she was having a hard time maintaining that shift so she had opted to stay behind instead.  
The goal for their little trip was Ginza, the luxurious shopping area found within Tokyo and the risk of recognition applied to Takeshi as well, but he had managed to work out a solution.  
Kasumi would also oversee the modifications that had been ordered for the Blackout, modifying it to be able to carry more passengers if needed.

When Takeshi and Emelie brought the girls down to the lagoon they all stopped to stare at the large yacht that lay moored in the still waters, the fairly recent purchase had been delivered the previous afternoon after some pushing from Takeshi for the company working on the upgrades to rush the job.  
The 50 meter wavepiercer motor yacht could comfortably house all of them with room to spare.  
Though they hadn't had time to upgrade all of the systems of the old Spirit 50, the combustion engines and generators had been replaced by a state of the art hybrid power-cell system similar to the one in the Blackout, the navigation systems had also been upgraded to allow access to the Navy's latest satellite and mapping data as well as a highly sophisticated autopilot.

“Okay, I'm just guessing here, but we don't have to worry much about price-tags when we go shopping, do we?”  
Amanda was the first to recover.  
“Nope, not at all!”  
Emelie chirped before grabbing the twins, using her tail she secured them tightly in her arms before unfolding her wings and flying out to the yacht, much to their delight.  
Takeshi guided the other girls to the smaller catamaran that would be used as a tender, though a lot smaller than the yacht it was still much too large to be carried by it so it would act as a chase-boat, with its autopilot linked to the yacht navigation-system it would simply trail behind them when not in use.  
Once the girls were all seated he took them out to the yacht where Emelie helped them board, once everyone had boarded the yacht Takeshi set up the autopilot and sealed the hardtop.  
When closed and sealed the catamaran could withstand severe weather, including being completely washed over by waves without taking on any water, and the solar panels incorporated into the hardtop was sufficient to run all the necessary systems while it was trailing behind them.  
If they decided to use the full speed of the Tiamat it would need to be towed though as its engines weren't as powerful and wouldn't be able to keep up in the long run.

Jumping over to the yacht he gave the catamaran a kick to put some distance between it and the yacht before joining Emelie and the girls who were exploring the luxurious boat.  
When they passed the bridge Takeshi left them to their own devices and began to move the yacht out of the lagoon and set the course that would take them to Tokyo, if the weather remained stable they would be there in roughly a week.  
With the new engines they could cut down the time a lot but Takeshi didn't want to push it, opting for comfort over speed, also the catamaran tender would not be able to keep up at top speed.  
Once the course was set and he had made sure that the catamaran was trailing them correctly he re-joined the others to help the girls pick cabins, he would be sharing the owner's stateroom with Emelie and Melissa would share the VIP cabin with the twins to help keep an eye on them and use the captain's cabin if she wanted a break from the girls.  
“Okay girls, time to pick your rooms. Sarah, Maria, you will be with Lissa here, and Lissa, you can sneak over there if you need to alone time.”  
The other girls had their pick of the four standard cabins as well as the three smaller cabins that had been the double crew cabins, and in the end they picked their cabins just like he had predicted, Amanda, Diane and Julia each picked one of the smaller crew cabins for themselves while Carol and Amy shared one of the regular cabins and Alice and Anne the one across the hallway.

“If you all come with me please.”  
Takeshi led them into the belly of the Tiamat and into one of the main hulls where the store room was located and handed them piles of bed linen and towels.  
“If you need help making the beds just ask, but do try to do it yourself first.”  
“Okay...”  
There was a bit of grumbling about how hard it was to make such large beds, but Takeshi hushed them and told them to try helping each other out before asking him or Emelie for help.  
A yacht the size of the Tiamat would usually have crew to do all the groundwork, but Takeshi had no plans of spoiling the girls to such a degree.  
Spoil them financially, yes, but he would not have them waited on hand and foot, they would take care of their own messes and they would help with household chores, he intended to make sure to raise them into capable young women.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“If everyone is done there is something I would like to talk to you about so gather around.”  
A few minutes later all of them were seated on the owners sundeck and Takeshi turned to the girls.  
“I am going to make a promise to all of you, and promises are very important to me, once I make a promise I will do everything in my power to make sure I keep it. Do you understand?”  
He had added a hint of power in his words and the girls all nodded.  
“But in return for my promise I want you to make me a promise as well.”  
“What kind of promise?”  
Carol's voice held a suspicious edge.  
“Don't worry Carol, I will explain everything.”

Motioning for them to settle down and listen he started to explain to them what his promise would be.  
“My promise to you will be to support you, not just financially, but in any other way I can as well. I will protect you as best as I can, body mind and soul and I will do my best to ensure you have everything you need.”  
Giving all of them a slightly sharper look he continued.  
“Keep in mind that this does not mean you will get everything you want, and sometimes it will mean me asking you to do things you don't want to, for your own good. Do you understand?”  
“Yeah.”  
“I guess...”  
“Like having to do chores?”

Takeshi focused on Alice's question about chores.  
“Among other things Alice. You will help with the chores, you will learn how to manage a home, how to cook, clean, do basic repairs, balance a budget and all those things. And you will attend school to get a proper education.”  
A deep sigh from Julia made Takeshi turn to her in slight concern.  
“What's the matter Julia?”  
“I hate school...”  
“You don't have to go to an actual school if you don't want to. I'm am more than happy to homeschool you all, actually, I would prefer that if it's okay with you.”  
“It's still school...”  
“Julia, what's the matter? Please tell me why you don't like school.”  
He grew genuinely concerned when she curled up and started to slap her own head while rocking back and forth mumbling to herself.  
“Stupid monkey can't read, stupid monkey can't learn.”

There was a shocked surge through everyone gathered as they realized the meaning of her mindless chants.  
“No, sweetie, stop. You are hurting yourself.”  
Takeshi struggled to keep his anger at bay as he gently took her hands so she wouldn't hit herself anymore.  
“Sweetie, having trouble reading doesn't make you any less smart than anyone else. Don't worry, we will help you.”  
While Takeshi tried to calm her down the other girls mixed promises of helping her with angry comments that anyone would call her stupid, or a monkey and he felt a certain pride that they immediately closed ranks to defend each other.  
He could feel the Beast echo the same pride within him, telling him how good it was that they acted like pack.

Once Julia was calm again he continued to talk to them, telling them that he expected them to do their best in their studies, that he didn't expect them all to ace all their tests or anything, what he asked was that they put in the effort and be the best they could.  
“You think you would feel okay promising me, and yourself that?”  
They all nodded and he quickly continued.  
“There is one more promise I want you to make.”  
Their attention was instantly back on him.  
“I want you to promise that if something is wrong, if you need something or have any problems that you will come to me, Em or Sumi about it, don't just bottle it up. Naturally I would like you all to get along, but I also know, and understand, that it's simply not possible for everyone to always get along.”  
The second request did cause some murmurs.  
“Of course this includes if you are upset with us adults over something, let us know what it is, and if you don't feel comfortable coming directly to the one you are upset with, speak with one of the others and they will help you.”  
“And if if we do something to make you angry or upset?”  
Diane's voice held a hint of fear that tore at Takeshi's heart and instincts.

“Then we will explain why we are upset, and if it's something you have done intentionally despite knowing it was wrong, there will be some sort of punishment.”  
The scent of her fear instantly grew strong so Takeshi quickly continued to explain.  
“One thing I will promise you, you will never be beaten as a punishment. But, in accordance with my instincts I may nip at your ear in reprimand, or if you challenge me in a very open way it may cause me to feel a need to establish dominance.”  
He explained about how he may in some extreme cases demand they submit, and explained how to avoid it happening, and what to do if it did happen, while also reassuring them that even if he did lose control he wouldn't actually harm them, even if he might handle them a bit less carefully, which may cause them pain even if that wasn't his intention.  
“If I do handle you too roughly when in such a state, don't hesitate to let me know it hurts, but be aware, I can tell if you are lying to try to get away.”  
“So we should pretty much expect to be treated like unruly pups?”  
Amanda asked with a laugh.  
“Pretty much, especially Lissa. And Lissa, I will need to talk to you some more, because you have been changed I will sometimes react differently toward you, and sometimes I may be a bit harsher with you.”  
She nodded quietly, but he could feel a strong determination from her, her promise to her sister to survive giving her the determination to face the issue caused by her change.

“Other than ear nipping, what kind of punishments can we expect?”  
Amanda questioned with a rather diplomatic tone.  
“Mainly things like having to do extra chores, or lose a privilege for a set time, like for instance no playing games on the computer for a week. If you feel a punishment is too harsh do let us know, and what you feel would be a more appropriate punishment. We may not change it though.”  
Takeshi had spoken with Emelie and Kasumi about it and they had agreed to allow the girls to govern themselves as far as possible and to make sure they felt like they had some say in matters that involved them or their future.  
Hopefully it would encourage them to take responsibility for their actions. 

“So, do you think you can agree to that?”  
Again they all nodded, but Takeshi didn't settle for that.  
“Now, I'm a bit of a stickler for rituals, so I would like to make this a bit of a formal exchange of promises. It may not mean anything special to you, but it would to me.”  
After a bit of talking among themselves the girls agreed to his request so he began to explain what would happen.  
“After I recite my promise I will give you a pendant, and after placing it around your neck I will give you a kiss on the forehead.”  
“But we don't have anything to give you...”  
“Don't worry, it's not needed. I give you this because it has the mark of my family on it, and that means you are under our protection. There is one thing you could do though, but only if you feel comfortable with it. After I kiss your forehead you can kiss the underside of my jaw, or just brush your lips against it.”  
“Wasn't that a sign of apology?”  
Anne piped up from behind her sister, and Takeshi was glad to see her speak up and not just let Alice do all the talking.  
“That's right Anne. It can mean many things, as I already mentioned, a request for forgiveness, but it can also be a sign or gratitude or acceptance, it depends on the situation.”

“Lissa, since you are the oldest you would normally go first, but since you are a Blessed now it will be slightly different for you, and I need to explain a few things before we do this.”  
“Okay. So Manda first?”  
“That's right.”  
He turned to Amanda and held out his hand toward her, urging her to come to him and once she did he rose from his seat and told her to sit down.  
Kneeling down before her he offered his promise, and she gave her own in return before he brought out a small crystal pendant in the shape of a dragon holding the Kiryu kanji and placed it around her neck.  
When he kissed her forehead her scent and aura rapidly shifted to embarrassment, and just a hint of curiosity and something akin to arousal, before she gave him a quick peck on the underside of his jaw and darted back over to the others.

Much to Takeshi's, and the Beast's, joy all of the girls returned his gesture by kissing the underside of his jaw, though not without some embarrassment for the older ones.  
It was a good sign that they trusted him, and gave him hope that they would recover nicely from their ordeal, he had no doubt there would be occasions where it came back to haunt them, but right now there were so many new things to distract them.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Over the next few days Takeshi spent most of his time working with the girls to figure out where each of them was in their education, to figure out where to start them in each subject.  
He was happy to find that though most of them were lacking in their education it was not a lack of ability, it was a lack of opportunity, they simply had not been given an environment where they could learn on their own terms, nor the help they needed to find their own way.  
This was especially obvious in Julia who had never been given proper help with her reading, instead the teachers had scoffed at her, been impatient, and not done anything to curb the abusive teasing from the other children when she was having a hard time.

He had spent a lot of time working with Julia to find a method suited for her to make it easier to learn her letters and start getting into reading and writing and had quickly found that she was a tactile learner, she needed to move, touch and create to learn, not just listen or look.  
He ordered quite a lot of materials, not just for her but for all the others as well, but for now he had her creating the letters out of clay made from sanctuary crystals, the transparent material was very similar to a polymer clay, but didn't need baking.  
It wasn't air dried either, instead it responded to his aura, and he taught her how to make it harden or soften, much like how she could make her frilled lizard familiar change and she seemed to enjoy playing with the strange material.

He was also teaching her sign language at the same time, giving her an additional movement based way of memorizing things.  
And of course, allowing her to move around, fidget, listen to music and sing during their lessons, and it was working, he was noticing a clear improvement of her ability to properly identify and sound the letters, as well as basic sound combinations

Right now he had her and the twins engaged in a game that was a bit of a mix between charades and twister, he would give them letters, or sounds, and they would use their bodies to form the letters, or letter combinations he had asked for.  
As the combinations grew from basic sounds into words they had to think about how to create it with their bodies, fostering cooperation, and creative thinking.  
The other girls were doing well using various educational software and helping each other out, and while Julia and the twins needed a bit more help there was still plenty of time for Takeshi to help Emelie with her Japanese, and for her to help him with his Swedish.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take, could you ask everyone to come to the sundeck?”  
“Of course Julia, what's the occasion?”  
“I have made something for everyone...”  
She held out a basket with a pile of flat packages wrapped in paper.  
“Oh, gifts. Now I'm curious.”  
He teased her lightly while tapping in to the intercom system of the Tiamat and asking everyone to gather so that she could present her gifts.

Julia's pride and joy when she presented each of them with a clay door sign with their name on and designs inspired by their familiars was intoxicating, and contagious.  
Takeshi knew she was working on something as she had asked him for more of the clay like substance, and in various colors, both clear and opaque, though instead of giving her what she had asked for he had taught her how to change the base material into what she wanted.  
She didn't have the raw power needed to actually create more of it though, it took quite a bit of energy to encourage the Sanctuary crystals to alter structure in such a way.

“Thank you Julia. You have quite a talent here. It's beautiful and you captured Kiryu's likeness really well.”  
Unwrapping his gift Takeshi found a very well made likeness of Kiryu curled around his sign, and it had his name both in kanji and _r_ _ō_ _maji_ , the romanized form he used outside of Japan.  
“Indeed, a real artist. We need to make sure you have plenty of supplies.”  
Emelie quickly agreed after opening her own which revealed a plate decorated with her wings, horns and tail.  
Everyone praised her work, and it was well needed balm for a battered self confidence.  
A ping from the autopilot disrupted the exchange of gifts, and praise, as it alerted Takeshi that they were about to enter Japanese waters and with a sigh he went up to the owners deck that he shared with Emelie and grabbed the bracelet he had been working on while watching over the various classes.

At a cursory glance it appeared to be a regular fashion bracelet, a pair of braided black leather cords threaded through a collection of large metal links forming an Asian dragon then gathered through a ring acting as a cord-lock and finally tipped with metal claws.  
While it looked like a regular silvery metal and black leather it was not, the cords were braided from the hide of the Ryujin and the metal parts were actually a combination of one of her claws and a crystal from the Sanctuary of the Mother.  
It had been infused with dragon-magic in order to cast an illusion hiding Takeshi's true appearance from outsiders as well as distort the outer layers of his aura, making it near impossible for anyone to recognize him.  
At first he had considered a regular transformation, it was a bit harder than taking the form of an animal but he could do it but the problem was that the girls would have a hard time recognizing him if he did and the Ryujin had suggested a charm which the beast had agreed was a good idea as the girls familiars would allow them to see through the illusion created by it.  
The design of the bracelet made him smile wistfully, it was the same design as the bracelet Tsukiko had given him, the one Kasumi always wore.

When he got back out to the girls Emelie's tail came to wrap around his wrist as usual but as it touched him it instantly pulled back and she hissed at him,  
“Dammit! Warn me before you put that cursed thing on! You know I don't like it, makes you feel **wrong** .”  
She had objected several times before that she did not like how it distorted his aura, her succubi nature made her identify him more on the feel of his aura than his appearance and she found the distortion to be unsettling.  
“I know, I'm sorry. But there are just to to many people here that can recognize me if I don't. Not only is my own personal aura easily spotted by anyone that has met me before, the aura of a Ryujin and their Ryuken is also easily recognized. And in Ginza we will come across people that are connected to the Kiryu-family as well as other Ryuken families, people that know what that feeling means, people that know all of the Ryuken wielders.”

He explained both to her and the girls why he needed to be hidden, he had already explained about the need to use his fake name, and they had agreed to allow him to place a _command_ on them so that they would not accidentally reveal him.  
“I know, but I still hate it! I can't feel **you** because of it.”  
“It's only the surface layer of the aura that is changed, my true aura is still there, beneath it. All you need to do is push a bit deeper and you will feel it.”  
“But you always told me not to do that?”  
“Pushing into someone's aura like that would be kinda like going through their pockets, something you don't do without permission. It could also hurt a person if done too forcefully. And since you are still learning control it's better if you avoid doing it, at least until you have learned better control.”  
“But I don't want to risk hurting you!”  
“Don't worry, you have my permission to do it, and since I won't be resisting it won't hurt me. Besides, you are not strong enough yet to do any real damage to me.” _  
_ The last part earned him a slap on the arm and her usual remark about how horrible he was but once she was done with that he could feel her probing the distorted aura before the tip of her tail lit up with her own aura and she pushed deeper.  
Once she had pushed past the distortion and could feel his true aura she relaxed and her tail wrapped around his arm in its usual manner.

“Come on girls, let's have something to eat, it can take a while to get through customs and all the bureaucracy around it so dinner might get a bit late.”  
Takeshi nudged Amanda and Diane toward the galley, it was their turn to help make food while Emelie and the twins set the table.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

As they closed in on the Bōsō Peninsula they were approached by a coast guard vessel that asked to board them in order to search for contraband and confirm their identities and travel papers, normally this would have been done at the customs check once they arrived in Tokyo but random checks like these were not uncommon.

“Girls, stay in your cabins please until I call for you.”  
“Okay.”  
Takeshi wanted the girls out of the way while he spoke to the customs officers from the coast guard vessel, hopefully they would agree to let them stay in their cabins until it was time for an identity check.  
Much to his relief they were thorough but accommodating, so while it did take a while to get cleared the girls weren't too stressed out about it.

It was nearly two hours later when they were finally cleared and could continue around the peninsula and into Tokyo Bay, but Takeshi didn't really mind, since they were now cleared he didn't have to navigate the high traffic canals to get to the customs dock and then get from the customs dock to the marina where they would be moored.  
Finding a location to tie up had taken a bit of work, not many locations were able to receive a boat as large as their yacht, at almost 15 meters wide and 50 meters long it was very large for a recreational vessel and in the end they had to tie up at a mooring buoy that had been prepared especially for them, it was rather expensive, but still less than they would have to pay for hotel rooms to house them all.  
Along with the mooring location they also had a slip for the catamaran, it would be to much of a hassle to have to hire a launch every time they needed to get to or from the yacht.  
Once Takeshi had navigated the narrow entrance to the marina he brought them to the mooring buoys and the marina crew used their dinghies to assist in securing the lines to the mooring chains, once secured he set the autopilot to maintain current position, running of both satellite and radar it should kick in if the moorings failed for some reason, they were after all not permanent structures and not really designed for a vessel of their size.

As they had arrived earlier than planned Takeshi had called the limousine company and informed them that they had arrived and that he wanted the limo to be there early the next morning rather than after lunch.  
He had arranged for a large limo and driver to be available for the next two weeks, hopefully that would be enough time to complete all their shopping, a shipping container had been reserved to bring any large items back home, his hope was that they would find things like bed-frames and other furniture for their rooms while they were at it.  
“Come on girls, let's go find something proper to eat!”  
As he called out for them he prepared for the stampede.  
Their previous meal had been a light one, and he had promised them to take them to get some real quality Japanese food when they arrived.

Takeshi brought them to the same old place he and Kasumi used to go to, though Sasaki-Obāsan passed away a few years ago the place was still owned by the Sasaki family and the granddaughter now ran the place.  
After Takeshi requested one of the private rooms the waitress led them to the back of the restaurant, and once they had removed their shoes they were seated at the low table inside and informed that the _Okami,_ owner, would be with them shortly to take their order.  
But when the granddaughter came to take their order Takeshi had to do a double take, it was not Sasaki- Obāsan's granddaughter but rather the old lady herself, just appearing younger.  
Last time he was here he had not been able to tell, but now it was obvious, she was a Blessed.

“ _Ah, Takeshi-sama, I had a feeling the Chosen one would be you, always knew the Mother would want you as one of her own.”  
_She greeted him silently in Japanese before welcoming him and his group to the establishment under his assumed name.  
_“Sasaki-_ _Ob_ _āsan, it is good to see that you are still with us, Kasumi nee-chan will be delighted to hear that.”_  
He responded over the link that all Blessed seemed to share before ordering the Kaiseki, the high class, multi course meal that was their specialty as well as an additional spread of Sashimi which caused Sasaki-Obāsan to snicker at him and silently comment that he had always eaten like one of the Blessed.  
_“How is Kasumi Ojou-sama nowadays?”  
_The silent conversation continued back and forth while the table was set with a wide selection of food.  
The reactions from the girls were varied, especially the _Sashimi_ caused quite a bit of suspicion but after watching Takeshi dig in with gusto their curiosity got the better of them, though most of them only sampled it before going for the vegetable and cooked versions.

“ _She is doing good, she wanted to be here but after she took the trial of blood 7 years ago she looks a bit young for a woman of 45 and she can't seem to manage her transformations to look older very well. So rather than struggle with those and drain herself she stayed behind to take care of things around the estate.”_  
_“She never did like growing old so she probably does not_ _ **want**_ _to look her true age.”_  
The meal was enjoyed in relative silence, which was unusual for the bunch, mealtime usually was a state of barely contained chaos, but at the moment the girls were focused on the food, and trying to show of how well they had learned to use chopsticks, though the younger girls did need some help to wrangle some of the dishes.  
After they had eaten they had an hour left before the stores began to close so they decided to spend the time to find each of the girls something nice to wear the next day.

“Can we have one of those pretty dresses?”  
The eager calls from the twins made Takeshi walk over to check what they had found and the rows of children's yukata made him smile.  
“Those are called yukata and are a simple form of kimono. And yes, you can have a yukata if you want one. Just pick the pattern you like.”  
Letting them have free pickings among the patterns was a bit of a scare as some of them were rather horrible, especially the ones with various children's anime characters for a pattern, but much to his relief they picked a traditional pattern, it was brightly colored, but without being garish.  
“Ah, an excellent choice. Let's get you some kanzashi as well.”  
“Some what?”  
“ _Kanzashi.”  
_He enunciated the word clearly and waited for them to repeat it a few times until they got it right.  
“Kanzashi are traditional hair ornaments.”  
“Yay! Can we have flowers or birds?”  
“Of course sweetie. Now go bring those to the nice attendant.”  
Takeshi watched as they hurried over to the store attendant that was helping them and she hung the selected yukata on the clothes rack along with the other selected items.

“We have barely gotten here and you are already spoiling them.”  
Emelie snickered at him as she sauntered up and placed a another tie against his chest before shaking her head and handing it to the attendant that was following her around.  
Seeing the rather horrible thing being rejected made him sigh in relief.  
“I guess, but they deserve it.”  
“Mhm..”  
A few more ties were held up before she settled for one she liked, and with a sigh he nodded.  
He didn't really need another tie, but she insisted on getting him something that was a bit less neutral.  
He paid her back by picking out some rather raunchy lingerie for her, she would no doubt get some sort of revenge for it, but he had no doubt he would get to enjoy seeing her in it.  
It wasn't just desire though, he may not have been able to say the words, but he loved her more than anything in the world.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Once back at the yacht the girls went out like lights while Takeshi and Emelie stayed up watching the lights of the city.  
“You miss this place, don't you? Japan I mean.”  
Emelie's sudden question made him mutter in objection at the interruption, he much rather just keep snuggling.  
He pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her he held her silently, for how long he didn't know.  
“Sometimes I do, and sometimes I'm glad I got out.”  
She jumped slightly when he finally answered her.  
“I miss the calm pulse of power that flows through the land, I can feel it on the Island and at the Den as well, but it feels different there. It lacks the part that is uniquely Dragon and as a true wielder of a Ryuken I **am** part dragon in a sense. Without the presence of dragon-magic I'm diminished.”  
“Is that why your tattoo seems to be glowing ever since we got here?”

She trailed her fingers over his tattoo as she spoke, the sensation of her sharp nails over the scales sent a shiver down his spine and he sucked in a breath between clenched teeth.  
He had known ever since puberty that his tattoo was sensitive and Emelie had taken advantage of that many times in the past to tease him into a romp, but this was unlike anything he had ever felt before, if he didn't know better he could have sworn she was using the lust inducing part of her _seduction_ on him.  
“Oh no, Take I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.”  
Even Emelie seemed to think she had accidentally used her powers on him as she apologized and pulled back a bit.  
_“It's okay sweetie, you didn't.”_  
He didn't trust his voice at the moment and even his mental voice wavered under the onslaught of sensation.  
Moments later she must have realized what had caused it because she broke out in a huge grin before leaning forward and reaching around him to trail her hands along the familiar scaling on his back while trailing kisses along the part of the tattoo that reached over his shoulder.  
He tried to reign himself in to allow her to have her way but he quickly lost himself, grabbing her he flipped her on her back with a low growl, her question and the odd behavior of his tattoo suddenly all but forgotten as they immersed themselves in more _pleasurable_ pursuits.

It didn't take long before Takeshi paused though, sensing that they were being watched.  
“Take?”  
“We have an audience.”  
He carefully unfurled his aura and allowed it to expand, and soon he came across a gentle, but curious energy, it was probably some kind of lesser youkai, it had the brilliance that indicated a high level of intelligence, but it was too weak to be a greater youkai, and those in between were mostly extinct.  
“The girls?”  
“No, some kind of youkai.”

Focusing in the direction where he sensed it he carefully shifted their positions so he could look in the direction and maybe see their little peeper, it was a bit hard to see in the darkness, but after a while he spotted a crow sitting on one of the cranes.  
There was something about the energy of the crow that felt familiar, and for a brief moment a memory of a crow flying toward him happily cawing in greeting flashed by, but a moment later the image vanished, and with it the memory of it.

“It's a crow youkai, based on how the youki feels I would say a young female, and very curious.”  
“Oh.”  
“Do you want to continue, knowing we are watched?”  
“Mhm.. I don't mind as long as it's not the girls. With what they have been through it may not be such a good thing if they see us, especially not when in this kind of mood.”  
Takeshi quickly agreed with her, knowing that the sex would end up intense, and rather violent, the girls had seen their usual scuffles, but that was nothing compared to when they got rough.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

The sensation of someone entering the room pulled Takeshi from his sleep but he didn't move as he could hear the twins whispering about waking them so that they could go on the promised shopping-spree and Melissa trying to talk them into letting him and Emelie sleep, with her new senses as a Blessed she no doubt knew what they had been up to most of the night.  
She didn't have much success though and moments later Takeshi caught Sarah before she could pounce on Emelie and a moment after that he groaned as Maria nailed him square in the gut.

“Girls, what have I told you about doing that? You could end up hurting Em's wings like that.”  
He scolded them gently and they looked completely crestfallen, and Sarah was quickly breaking into tears.  
“Sorry, I forgot.”  
She cried into his chest while Emelie carefully gathered Maria before pulling Sarah into her arms as well and wrapping her wings around them.  
“Ssh, it's okay, nothing happened, but you need to remember not to jump on people like that.”  
Emelie soothed the distraught girls and the sobs slowly stopped.  
Once they had calmed down Takeshi shooed the girls out so he and Emelie could grab a quick shower and get dressed before joining them for breakfast.

After helping the girls get ready they headed to the limo that was waiting for them by the pier, and soon they were headed into Ginza, the plans for the day was to look at furniture since those items could take a bit longer to have delivered to the shipping company that would load it into the shipping container they had rented and bring it to Honolulu from there the container would be airlifted out to the island.  
The twins however seemed more set on eating their way through Ginza, begging him to buy things at almost every small shop and cart that sold the various street-foods and occasionally he would humor them but he found that he had to hold them back quite a bit, telling them there was a day tomorrow as well or they would eat themselves sick.  
Though, he could understand them, he recalled feeling much the same during his first visit, but even then he carried the burden of the Kage so he had not been able to act on it, he shook off the memories with a wistful smile as he paid for a pair of Ikayaki, grilled squid on a stick, and handed the smaller one to the twins so they could share it before offering Emelie a bite of his own.

“Look they have princess beds!”  
Diane's excited call instantly had all the girls hurrying over to see what she had found and much to Takeshi's horror it was a store sporting a wide range of furniture in the currently popular style.  
The Victorian and Gothic inspired styles sported dark woods with elaborate carvings, black lacquer accented with red and gold, heavy four-poster beds with several layers of curtains, vanities and Armoire desks.  
It wasn't that he minded the style though, many of the pieces were quite beautiful, though sometimes a bit too much, for instance he wasn't much of a fan of the pieces that were completely covered in black lacquer.  
He did however like the intricately carved dark wood pieces with details in gold, dark stains and black lacquer, but he dreaded the thought of carrying the solid wood pieces from the cargo dock to the house.  
Fortunately he, Emelie and Kasumi were all much stronger than any human, so they would be able to do it without needing machinery to assist them.

“Can we shop here?”  
“Please?”  
Eager voices quickly rose, all but begging to go browse the store.  
“I want to make sure it's good quality items first. Okay?”  
“Okay...”  
The disappointment was instant, but he shushed them and continued.  
“If you find something you like and we can't find it as a quality piece we will take note of the design and look into having it made somewhere.”  
“Wow.. Okay!”  
The mood quickly swung back up to a high note and he ushered them into the store with a smile.

Much to Takeshi relief the store was quite modern and had an interior design software with an advanced virtual showroom feature that was compatible with most formats of floor plans, including the ones Ethan had created for their house, files that Takeshi easily transferred to his tablet from the server at home.  
The software had high quality full 3D models of every piece of furniture that the store offered along with things like a huge library of wallpapers, flooring options and fully customizable colors.  
It was paired with a full scale showroom where movable, flexible, walls could be moved to define the space of the room that was being shopped for, and mockups of the furniture placed inside.  
It allowed the girls to see how each of the items would look in their rooms, and how much free space would remain, which was especially useful for some of the larger pieces to really see how much room they would take up.  
It cost extra for the service of course, but Takeshi went with it to make things smoother.

“We should get one of those poster beds as well.”  
The way Emelie almost purred and the slight spike in the power of her seduction gave Takeshi a pretty good idea why she would want a poster bed and the images that brought up made him groan and focus on trying to keep a certain part of his anatomy from rising to the challenge.  
“Tease...”  
He leaned in and gave her ear a nip in reprimand for letting her seduction rise but she just tutted and smiled at him.  
“Please..?”  
The singsong quality of her voice made him sigh, it would seem he would be constructing a new bed.  
“Fine, but you do know we will have to build it from Sanctuary materials unless you want to bring it down the first time we use it.”  
“Of course, after all, normal beds aren't built to handle Mr Built like a brick.”  
The teasing quip made him snort and grab her by the waist, then hoist her up on his shoulders which made her squeak at him before settling down, perfectly happy with her new perch.  
“That's why it's useful to have a tiny little featherweight partner.”  
The dig at her size made her huff at him and squeeze her legs to the point of almost choking him.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

It took them 3 days to buy all the furniture for the girls, but that was just the first part of their shopping spree, next up was clothes.  
If Takeshi had felt shopping for furniture with a gaggle of girls was hectic he soon found that is was a calm retreat compared to shopping for clothes.  
By end of the first day of clothes shopping Takeshi had seriously considered running away and leaving Emelie to help the girls, but it seemed she picked up on his thoughts because her tail had moved from its usual place around his wrist and instead wrapped around his neck and refused to let go.

“Sweetie, could you loosen up that hold a bit please, it's getting a bit hard to swallow my food.”  
“Hmpf, you better not try anything.”  
“I won't sweetie, I promise.”  
Once he made his promise her tail returned to its usual place and he could finally eat without half choking himself.  
“Thank you sweetie.”  
The exchange caused some snickering and giggles from the girls, but they did keep it down out of respect for the other patrons at the restaurant, he would have to find some way to reward them for that later.

As they left the restaurant a man in a sharp suit bumped into Emelie slightly and instantly turned to apologize, but froze before he had spoken the first word, staring at her for several seconds before starting apologize quite energetically.  
There was something familiar about the man and Takeshi could tell he was yakuza, the way he had reacted to Emelie gave him an suspicion as to his identity though.  
_“Sweetie, ask him if if he Sato of Okinawa, bearer of your mother's sumire.”_  
The flicker of surprise, and anticipation in her aura told him she would do as he suggested.  
“Excuse me, Ojisama. Would you happen to be Sato of Okinawa, bearer of my mother's sumire?”  
There was a flicker of shock across the man's face, then his features softened and he bowed deeply.  
“I am Sato, yes. So you truly are her daughter then.”  
“I am Emelie Eriksson, Daughter of Maria Eriksson, ward of the Kiryu.”  
“You have my condolences Ojousama, your mother's passing was a sad day indeed. I only met her briefly, but she was a remarkable woman, and she left an impression that truly altered my path for the better.”

Takeshi was somewhat surprised at Sato's words, it was not common to hear a Japanese man speak in such a way, especially not a man of the yakuza.  
“Daddy, who's that?”  
Maria's question brought Sato's attention away from Emelie and he quickly looked at the girls before settling on Takeshi, suspicion clear in his aura.  
They had decided to have the girls all call Takeshi _Daddy_ to hide his identity, and using such a common term also made the _command_ less of strain on all of them.  
The suspicion was soon replaced with concern though, but it quickly faded when he noticed the way Maria hid behind Takeshi.  
“Apologies, onechan, I didn't mean to scare you.”  
Sato quickly took a small step back while apologizing.

“Remember when I told you about that time when Em's mother visited a bar in Okinawa?”  
“Mhm.”  
“He is Sato, the man who made an oath to Em's mother.”  
“Oh.”  
When Maria turned to Sato Takeshi knew they were in for it.  
“So you're the guy who groped Nana and got decked?”  
The deadpan delivery of the question while still hiding behind his legs had Takeshi struggling between laughing, sighing, and scolding her for being rude, so he settled for keeping his silence and waiting for Sato's reaction.  
Sato made quite the amusing face when reminded of his past behavior, but he quickly schooled his feature sand turned to Maria.  
“Indeed I am. And fortunately Sumire-aneki corrected my behavior, and set me on a path to learning true honor.”  
“Maria, remember your manners.”  
Takeshi gently reminded her before she could unload what would no doubt be a volley of very personal questions.  
“Sorry Daddy.  
She quickly turned back to Sato.  
“Sorry Sato-san. I didn't mean to be rude.”  
“Don't worry Maria-san. I know you meant no offense.”  
When he looked up Sato studied Takeshi quite intently and after a while Takeshi shook his head with a crooked smile.  
_“No, your senses are not tricking you, but please, it must remain a secret.”  
_Sato's eyes widened in surprise at Takeshi's soft words spoken in Japanese. _  
“Of course."_

After speaking for a few more minutes, including a round of invitations and polite declines they all agreed to head to a local ice-cream parlor for some dessert, and some more talking.  
“So, what do you say girls, do you think you would be okay with letting Sato-san visit us at the Tiamat this weekend for a few drinks?”  
Takeshi turned to the girls, it would be up to them if they felt comfortable with allowing another man into what was in essence their home.  
“Will you two be drinking too?”  
Once again Melissa stepped up and spoke for the group.  
“Yes, but not enough to get drunk, or be impaired in any way.”  
There was another hushed conversation between the girls before Melissa nodded that it was okay for Sato to visit for a few drinks as long as Takeshi and Emelie didn't get drunk and he didn't come down to the floors where they had their rooms.  
“Thank you, I will honor your wishes.”  
Takeshi had given Sato a quick explanation in Japanese about the girls background as they were being a bit skittish around him.  
He was glad the girls had agreed, fostering the relationships with the old breed of yakuza that Sato belonged to could become valuable, of course they dabbled in all sorts of illegal activities, but they refused to participate in trafficking of guns, drugs or humans and they had a strict code of honor.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Finally...”  
Takeshi breathed a sigh of relief when the last set of boxes with clothes were loaded onto the delivery truck and it headed toward the cargo docks.  
“Oh, were not done yet.”  
“I know sweetie, but the rest of the shopping is things I understand a bit better than girls' fashion.”  
The complaint, and the reason for his relief, made Emelie snicker at him, but she did agree, buying clothes for all the girls had been very hectic, especially since they needed to keep in mind they they would be growing pretty fast.

“So, are you girls ready to go tech-shopping?”  
The squeals and cheers that followed made Takeshi, Emelie and Melissa cringe and cover their ears, which quickly had the others apologizing.  
“I'll take that as a yes. Keep in mind though that when it comes to phones we will just be looking for models you like, I will special order all the phones later.”  
“Because there's no cellphone coverage on the island?”  
“Mhm...”  
He agreed, but it wasn't the entire reason, he wanted additional security features added to the software, and he had a tech-dealer whom he trusted to create what he needed.

“Daddy, can we buy a VR-system?”  
The entire group had gathered in front of a display showing off the latest _Hyper Dive_ equipment, in the past 10 years there had been a lot of development in virtual reality, and the Hyper Dive was the first full dive equipment out there.

However it was mostly aimed toward professional clients such as arcades, this latest model was somewhat slimmed down though to try to move it into the private consumer area, though it was still a very bulky and cumbersome system.  
Takeshi took a long look at the cross between a chair and a bed, the full bodysuit and the helmet.  
They still hadn't been able to solve full-dive VR without the use of a full bodysuit to properly read movements, and prevent you from moving as well as relay the sensation of touch, the large seat could tilt and turn to help give a better sense of immersion.  
Looking back at the girls he was met by a perfect collection of begging puppy dog eyes and he sighed deeply.

“Fine. Go pick out a few games that seem interesting.”  
While the girls ran of Takeshi requested to speak with the store manager, or someone else with the authority to negotiate bulk prices, as much as he was buying, he did not intend to pay full retail.  
Instead he intended to have the store act as an agent of sorts and order the items for delivery to him at a reduced price, they would of course still make a nice profit due to the sheer volume he was buying.  
A Hyper Dive system was not cheap, and the stores made quite a big profit on each unit sold, but if he bought them with the store acting as an intermediary they wouldn't need to spend any resources on transporting it or keeping it in storage.

As the girls returned it became quite obvious they expected him to buy one unit for them to share, and he didn't say anything to let them know they were wrong about that little detail, Emelie however called him out on, though silently.  
_“You are insane, you know that, right?”  
“Well, do you want to deal with making a schedule for sharing a unit, and enforce it?”  
“Glöm det!”  
_She quickly told him to forget any such ideas as she helped him sort through the selected games.  
After a look at what games the girls had picked he added quite a few more similar games to the list, it would be good to have plenty of little things to give them, rewards for acing tests and such things.  
“They are going to be spoiled rotten.”  
Emelie tutted softly at him when he added a huge list of games for the VR system as well as for regular computers and tablets.  
“Perhaps, but I do intend to have them work for it. I figure these games will make nice motivational gifts.”  
“Ah, the good old bribery system.”  
“It's only a bribe if they know about it.”  
“Now that's sneaky.”  
She laughed before agreeing with his plans.

They had spoken at great length about how to raise the girls and while they had quite a few differences in opinion they did agree on a few points, they would be clear about rules and expectations, they would work together and not undermine each other's authority and as far as possible any form of discipline would be non physical.  
They were however aware that in some occasions Takeshi's instincts might make that impossible, and they had already agreed that his normal reprimand consisting of a nip to the ear was acceptable.  
They had explained about it to the girls and they had all agreed that it was acceptable as well.  
To always keep the girls in the loop and as far as possible allow them to be a part of decisions regarding their lives was another point they had agreed on.

Each of the girls also received a high performance gaming computer as well as a top of the line laptop and a tablet, though, Takeshi would be replacing the operating system on all of them.  
He also added a pallet of flexes, the simple flexible touchscreens didn't have much computing power or memory compared to for instance a tablet, but they were cheap and durable so they for instance could bring reading material with them to the beach without needing to worry about ruining a tablet or laptop.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Wait, were going to buy jewelry?”  
Amanda stared at the storefront with a somewhat slack jawed expression.  
“Well, not really. We are going in to look at what kind of items you like, and check your sizes. But we won't buy anything now, but I promise, you will all get something for Christmas.”  
Emelie explained while Takeshi kept an eye on the energetic group.  
They would be making items from Alaskan gold, silver and platinum paired with sanctuary crystals, as wells as various enchants and charms to offer protection.

“Daddy, can we get pierced ears?”  
The twins were looking at a collections of cute flower and butterfly studs as they begged to get their ears pierced.  
“Not right now. But we can do it when we get back home.”  
While he wasn't overly concerned that a high class store like the one they were currently browsing would have poor hygiene for their piercing equipment he still preferred to do it himself using equipment made from sanctuary crystals.  
“Okay!”  
Both of them chirped happily before skipping away to look at another display.

While they didn't buy any jewelry Takeshi did buy a large selection of gift boxes that their gift section offered, a big box of pillow boxes as well as a big selection of the small plushies holding gift boxes.  
He also allowed them to buy wallets and credit card holders, for now all that had to put in them was their smartcard passports, but he did intend to give them an allowance, and allow them to earn extra money by doing extra chores.  
And with getting an allowance they would be taught about managing finances and he would set up a savings account and a transaction account with a card and everything else they would need to use their allowance when they wanted to.

At the end of the two weeks they ended up having to rent a larger shipping container and when doing the math Takeshi noted that quite a fortune had been spent, it was with an internal sigh he realized that for the next 20 years or so they would have to make trips like these once or twice a year to keep the fast growing girls properly clothed, at the rate they spent money he might even have to put in a bit of an effort to keep the accounts topped.  
But it would be well worth it, and there was no risk of him actually going broke, but he did want to be able to keep spoiling the ones he cared for.

After filling up the cargo holds with some of his favorite local ingredients to ensure they had enough food to take their time on the return trip they headed back out to the open sea.

 


	4. Wanderer of the Sea

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take, what's wrong?”  
Emelie joined Takeshi at the bow after sensing his aura reach out in search for something.  
“Nothing, really. I'm just sensing other Blessed nearby and they are coming closer.”  
“Oh, some kind of marine Blessed?”  
“Mhm, I can't see them yet though.”  
He showed her the tab with the sonar display.  
“If they are marine mammals, won't the sonar be uncomfortable for them?”  
"Don't worry, I'm running it on a very low intensity so it won't cause them any discomfort unless they come right up to the emitter."  
“If they are blessed, aren't their senses much stronger?”  
“Mhm, but also more resilient.”  
Emelie tilted her head slightly as she considered his words before nodding.  
“Just be careful, okay, I don't want you to do anything that could hurt them.”  
“Of course not sweetie, remember, I can sense them, I would be able to tell if they were scared, or in pain. All I can feel now is a mix between curiosity and caution.”

Takeshi kept his aura and senses open for a while and he could feel them slowly coming closer but couldn't see anything so he called Emelie over again.  
“Em, what do you say we cut the engines and see if they decide to come closer?”  
“Sure, you're the skipper.”  
“And you are the owner.”  
He teased gently, reminding her that he didn't expect her to just go with whatever he wanted all the time.  
“Just one thing thought sweetie, as they come closer some of my instincts may act up a bit. They will probably register as a pack to me, and we are in their territory which will put me at edge.”  
“Don't worry. I remember the lessons about dealing with an agitated alpha.”

“Why are we stopping already?”  
Carol had been sitting at the railing with one of the binoculars that they had bough, watching the Izu Islands as they passed them.

On their way to Japan they had just set a straight course for the southern tip of the Bōsō peninsula, bringing them in north of the Izu Islands, but they had decided to travel south along the island chain on their way home and not turn east until they had passed Aogashima.  
It was a slight detour, but passing the islands gave Takeshi a perfect excuse to teach the girls a bit more about Japan, it's history, it's culture, and the youkai that lived there.

“I can sense some Blessed nearby, so we are stopping for a while to see if they want to come by and visit.”  
“Oh, what kind of blessed?”  
“I don't know, but some sort of marine life. Why don't you use those binoculars and look out over there to see if you can spot anything.”  
He pointed her in the direction where he could sense the Blessed and she quickly turned her attention there, slowly sweeping the binoculars from side to side.  
It didn't take long for the other girls to notice and head down to their cabins to get their binoculars and soon they were all standing along the railing searching for any sign of the approaching Blessed.

“Look! Dolphins!”  
Anne's eager calls made all of them look in the indicated direction.  
“Is that them?”  
Takeshi focused in the direction, but they were too far out even for his enhanced senses so he took the binoculars that Emelie held out for him and turned his gaze toward the presence.  
It didn't take long before he spotted a dorsal fin breaking the surface of the water as a dolphin surfaced to take a breath, and moments later several others joined it, the individual energies were still hard to sense, but it would seem the pod was about a dozen strong.  
“What kind of dolphins are they? They look different.”  
Carol's comment made Takeshi look closer for the next time the breached the surface.  
“They are probably hybrids, most Blessed are.”

When looking closer at them it soon became obvious that they were not your regular bottlenose dolphins, they had the bold black and white patterning seen in the _Lagenorhynchus_ genus, but rather than the rather blunt head shape of the genus they had the long rostrum seen in many of the other genus.

“Come on girls, let's go down and see if they will swim with us.”  
There was a frantic rush of activity as the girls scurried into their cabins and changed into their swimwear and before long they were all gathered down at the swim platform.  
“I know you don't like them, but I want all of you to wear you vests. And don't forget the air bottle.”

Takeshi stopped them before they could get in to the water and pointed them toward the box that held their buoyancy aids.  
The younger girls all had models that offered a bit more support as they were still learning how to swim properly, while Melissa, Amanda, Carol and Amy wore slimmer models that allowed for more freedom of movement.  
All of them had a small bottle of air though, it was a simple version based on the small spare tanks used by some divers, it was only enough for a few minutes, but that would be plenty enough for Takeshi to get there and help if something happened.

“Aww, do we have to?”  
“Can't we use the armbands instead? We promise to stay close to the boat..”  
The twins complained quite a bit, which he did understand as their vests were larger, more buoyant, made for unskilled swimmers, which also made them somewhat limiting.  
“No arguments girls. The currents can be unpredictable here and I'm sure you will want to spend plenty of time in the water with the dolphins.”  
There was a bit of grumbling, but they did keep still while Takeshi and Emelie helped them make sure all the straps were secure.  
“Be careful now. These dolphins may be Blessed, but they are still animals at heart, they might react instinctively if you scare them or corner them. And I want all of you to stay here at the back of the Tiamat where Em and I can see you.”  
Takeshi gave all of them a bit of a safety briefing before letting them into the water.  
“Em, would you watch over the girls while I try to communicate with our finned friends here?”  
“Of course Alpha.”  
She teased softly as she spread her wings and flew up to the middle deck where she would have a better view.

Sliding into the water Takeshi allowed the power of the blessing to wash over him and moments later he shed his human form in favor for that of the dolphin before reaching out with his mind, seeing the Blessed around him.  
The answer was chaotic, images and sound bombarding him from all directions, quickly overwhelming him so he answered them by focusing on the sensation of pain and disorientation which made them back off a bit.  
He could sense their disappointment and after a few moments of consideration Takeshi had an idea on how to make the dolphins understand.  
_“Girls, could you come here for a bit and help me show them what the problem is?”_  
They quickly agreed and asked him what to do.  
_“I need you all to move closer at first and I will move away while projecting discomfort and disorientation, then you approach one by one, and I will come closer, touch you and focus on projecting a calm and happy feeling.”  
_Hopefully that would make the dolphins understand that all of them at once was too much for him.

Much to his relief they understood what he was trying to tell them and once the girls had pulled back the pod matriarch approached him slowly, calmly repeating her signature whistle while transmitting the image of herself.  
Allowing his instincts to guide him he focused on the image of himself, and his name, before returning the whistle, hoping that the instincts would guide him and create a signature whistle of his own.  
The sound was nothing like his name, but the matriarch seemed to understand what he was doing as she brushed past him with a sense of satisfaction in her aura, first repeating her own signature call, then giving him a nudge and repeating his call.  
Once she was done the others came up to him one or two at a time and greeted him in the same way.

With the greetings out of the way the matriarch, who Takeshi had taken to calling Toccata in his mind due to her signature whistle reminding him of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, came up to him and voiced a combination of whistles and short bursts of clicks.  
“I'm sorry, I don't understand yet.”  
At first it was just a jumble of images and sounds, but she patiently repeated the same sequence over and over, and after a while it started to morph into something that sounded like actual words.  
He had gone through similar issues while learning to understand the wolves of Amarok's pack, but then he had Amarok to help him explain the sensations, this time he was on his own.

“ _Mother blessed, Mother choose.”  
“Choose... You..?”  
“`·,¸,.·´ `·.,¸,·´`·,¸,.·´ `·.,¸,·´`·,¸,.·´ `·.,¸,·´”  
_

 

The last part was impossible for him to understand, and the part that his mind interpreted as the word _you_ was in fact her repeating his signature whistle, it would take time for him to understand them.  
The dolphin mind was just so vastly different from his own that they had very little common ground to draw upon, making more complex concepts hard to translate.

“ _Yes, I am her champion, and these females are my pack, my pod.”  
_

After he introduced the girls as his the dolphins seemed to be more than happy to swim and play with them, and the girls were loving every moment of it.  
As nightfall came around Takeshi ushered the girls to bed and checked the autopilot before turning the engines back on, they didn't move very fast though and the dolphin pod seemed more than happy to follow them.  
He could sense a few of them breaking away though, probably going hunting.

It was the middle of the night when the presence of yet another Blessed pulled Takeshi from his sleep, it was lingering just at the edge of his awareness, almost seeming hesitant to approach and he gave it a gentle nudge to let it know he was aware of it but without rejecting it.  
He was curious about the Blessed of the sea, unlike him their base nature was that of the beast, like the wolves at the den, only Amarok had been human with animal aspects, the others were wolves with some human aspects, like a more complex understanding of cause and effect, a wider emotional range and capable of using and understanding human language.  
The most prominent difference as far as he could tell though was that the Blessed whose base nature was that of the beast seemed to be unable to shapeshift.  
He moved Emelie into a slightly more comfortable position, careful not to wake her, before he allowed himself to sink into a meditative state, expanding his aura and weaving a web around them to alert him of the movements of the Blessed that still followed at a distance, if it was still following them in the morning he would have a look on the sonar to see if he could get an idea what it was.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Girls, after breakfast I want you to work on your lessons for an hour, then you can play with the dolphins until lunch.”  
As expected there was a bit of grumbling, but they all promised they would do as asked.  
So far the girls had been very easy to deal with, they listened well, and did as they were asked, though they did grumble and complain at times.  
Takeshi had a feeling it wouldn't last though, they were still insecure about their place with him, and probably afraid that they would be sent away if they weren't obedient.  
But as they became more secure in their place their personalities would no doubt start to assert themselves more, leading them to test the limits a bit, which would definitely lead to a few conflicts here and there.

“What's going on?”  
Emelie plopped down next to him and leaned into him.  
“There's another creature at the edge of my awareness, at first I thought it was another Blessed, but this one feels slightly different. Might be some kind of a demon.”  
“So, what are you going to do?”  
“I'm going to drop the active sonar emitter and send a narrow band ping in the direction. It's far enough away so it won't harm it, and I'll warn the pod to move away.”

With breakfast done Takeshi headed to the bridge to see if he could get a better idea what it was that was following them, as he lowered the emitter for the active sonar he sent a warning to the dolphins to get out of the way since the ping from the sonar could be very uncomfortable if they remained close to the source.  
After some adjustments to the emitters to narrow the area hit Takeshi confirmed that the pod was clear before transmitting the ping, and watched the image compile on the screen only to end up scratching his head as all he could see was a flat, somewhat elliptic shape about 20 meters wide and he had no idea what it could be.  
After retracting the sonar emitter he called out to the pod that it was safe to return and went to spend a lazy day watching the girls and the dolphins play, he could still feel the other creature but it seemed satisfied with keeping its distance.

It was shortly after lunch and the girls were resting on deck when Takeshi noticed that the presence began moving toward them, picking up a remarkable speed and for a brief moment Takeshi worried that it intended to attack them, but he relaxed as he couldn't feel any hostility from it, and as it approached the dolphins radiated joy and he could pick up their greetings as it closed in.

“ _Wanderer!”  
“Guardian!”  
“Eldest!”  
_

Their voices flowed together and he could feel their reverence for the one approaching them and then with a spectacular leap the newcomer introduced itself by leaping clear across the yacht, quite a feat as the yacht was several stories tall.  
The stunt revealed their new visitor to be a huge Manta Ray, Takeshi realized that the sonar had not given an accurate picture, it had appeared to be about 20 meters wide on the screen, but this creature was closer to 30 meters wide, about three times the size of the largest recorded ray.  
After splashing down it came around to the stern where it lay still just under the surface, the slow movements of its wing like fins keeping it stationary, Takeshi walked down to the platform and dove into the water, slowly approaching the large creature, while the manta ray lacked teeth capable of doing any real harm it could still knock him around pretty bad if it decided to slap him with the powerful fins.  
Not to mention with its sheer size it could do some serious damage to the yacht, probably sink it without much effort and without the yacht the girls would not be able to survive, fortunately it seemed to share the curious, and generally harmless, nature of its mortal kin.

“ _`·,¸,.·´ `·.,¸,·´`·,¸,.·´ `·.,¸,·´`·,¸,.·´ `·.,¸,·´”_  
_“Chosen?”  
“`·,¸,.·´ `·.,¸,·´`·,¸,.·´ `·.,¸,·´`·,¸,.·´ `·.,¸,·´”  
_

It he could sense questions as it touched his mind, much like how the dolphins had, and once again Takeshi found himself in contact with a mind that was so different it made it hard to grasp and most of the question was beyond his ability to understand, but he could sense its age.  
And it truly was ancient, this creature was older than mankind as a species and in it's memories he could feel mankind's first hesitant steps into the vastness of the oceans, crawling in the shallow coastal waters foraging for various clams, crustaceans and other edibles in the tidal pools.  
It showed him how the oceans were slowly conquered by ever improving technology and how its denizens were forced to stand back, and slowly be wiped out as the presence of humans poisoned the life-bringing waters.  
Takeshi could feel pain and sorrow emanating from the creature and suddenly he understood what it had been asking.

“ _Yes, I was chosen to help end the death and suffering that mankind has forced on the other children of the Mother. If possible bring humanity back to the Mother but if all else fails, mankind will meet her end and the Blessed will inherit the Mother in all her splendor.”  
_

He could feel its mind withdraw as it slowly moved away and began to circle the yacht in an almost lazy fashion and somehow he knew it was considering his words and about 10 minutes later it returned to its position just aft of the yacht.

“ _Come, bring your pod.”  
“Touch and learn.”  
“Swim and play.”_

It seemed it had decided his word was good and invited them to join it, and this time it's words were easier to understand, it seemed it had simplified the images and concepts into something easier for Takeshi to understand, but before allowing the girls in the water with the giant he made sure it knew to be gentle with them.

“ _Please be careful with them, unblessed humans are fragile, easily harmed and need to breathe all the time.”  
_

“ _Play at the border of emptiness.”  
“Not the rich beneath.”  
“Touch like the softness of the drifters.”_

It still took some effort for Takeshi to understand it, its language was different and he guessed it rarely had any contact with human minds to learn from, but the images that drifted to his mind as it spoke helped him understand what it meant, the _border of emptiness_ was the surface of the water, to a fish the air above the water would be an empty void, nothing to breathe, nothing to eat.  
With the mention of _drifters_ it showed images of various jellyfish along with a feeling of how easily they could be torn and damaged, satisfied that it would be careful with them he told the girls that it was safe to go into the water.  
He watched the girls play while he had a silent conversation with the creature, unlike the dolphins it had no name, others simply referred to it as _Wanderer_ , the dolphins all had their own names, though impossible for him to even try to replicate, even borrowing their form he had a hard time forming the complex whistles, it was hard enough to use the echo-location, his mind simply not able to grasp it yet.

About an hour later the dolphins began to show signs of excitement and he carefully focused his senses on them to try to sort through the cacophony of sounds and images to see if he could understand what was going on.  
It took a while to decipher, but the dolphins were patient with him, the pod had picked up the calls of their mortal kin, a pod of dolphins traveling with a school of bluefin tuna hunting for food.

“ _Come, we hunt, we chase”  
“The deep is rich, the Children of the Mother clever”  
“We chase, we catch, we live.”_

The dolphins invited him to join them in a hunt, but he was more interested in the bluefin tuna than the prey fish they were hunting for which he explained to them, and they agreed that if he helped them catch smaller prey they would help him herd and catch a large bluefin, or as the dolphins seemed to called them _Toothtail_.  
He could understand why they called them that, the finlets of a bluefin tuna did look a lot like a row of teeth.

“Sweetie, would you be okay watching over the girls on your own for a while?”  
“Mhm, what are you up to?”  
“The dolphins are telling me there are some mortal dolphins and a school of bluefin tuna nearby and I would like to take the tender out and try to catch one of the tuna.”  
“Oh, I see. Sure, go ahead.”  
“I would appreciate a hand in getting the tender ready if you don't mind.”  
“Of course not. I happen to like tuna too.”  
The teasing quip made him bare his fangs at her but she just laughed and headed for the storage area to grab the heavy duty rods as well as Takeshi's tackle box and the bags with the nets.

While Emelie carried the equipment to the tender Takeshi grabbed the fighting chair and secured it into the deck-mount, set it up to his favored settings, then made sure the added controls for the tender were online and working as they should.  
A bucket of meat and fish scraps from the kitchen was quickly carried down for chum, he would be using lures rather than bait though.  
The Sanctuary crystal lures had the benefit of being harmless to marine life he wasn't targeting, so if one of the mortal dolphins took it the hooks would not engage, allowing it to spit it out unharmed.

Calling out to the pod he let them know he was ready to follow them and before long they arrived at the feeding ground and the dolphins started to feed, and examine the gathered bluefins, carefully selecting a healthy specimen of good size and herding it toward Takeshi's chum zone, and the waiting lure.  
It didn't take long before it struck true, signaling the start of the battle with a strong rush, and Takeshi could feel it was big and strong, the dolphins had herded out a prime specimen for him and he would have to work for his catch.  
The dolphins proved to be a great help though as whenever the tuna tried to dive down and dig in, or make a rush the pod would cut it off, or use focused bursts of their sonar clicks to scare it into moving which shortened the fight considerably.

Only two hours later he had the live fish tied to the side of the catamaran using the kumosilk net, by letting the tuna swim alongside the boat for a while he allowed it to rest and revive, flushing the buildup of lactic acid from the muscles witch would greatly improve quality and keep it from spoiling as fast.  
Ideally he would have wanted to put it on ice once it was bled and gutted, but that simply was not an option, so once back at the Tiamat he wrapped a tarp around it to keep scavengers away and secured it to the anchor, sending it down to colder water.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Girls, time to get out of the water and help with dinner!”  
Emelie called out from the galley.  
“You to Take! I am not taking care of that monster you caught.”  
She added after a few moments, referring to the large bluefin tuna he had caught earlier in the day.  
“Hai hai sweetie.”  
As always the reply resulted in a few less than proper grumblings in Swedish, and as always it just made him smile.

Watching the others head toward the galley Takeshi grabbed the tablet that held controls for the crane and davit, swim platform, tender bays as well as controls for the bow and stern thrusters and remote access to the navigation controls of the catamaran.  
Bringing the catamaran in closer he pulled up the anchor chain, swung the crane out, and hooked it to the rope that had anchored the large fish to the catamaran and used it to bring it up to the platform.  
He had estimated it to be around 300kg and checking the scale on the winch it showed 315kg, telling him he had underestimated it a bit as it was the weight after being gutted.  
It's sheer size offered a slight dilemma though, none of the knives on board were suitable for preparing it.  
Deciding that the delicious _Otoro_ , fatty tuna belly, was worth risking a grumpy dragon over he used the crane to maneuver the fish into a more manageable position before drawing his blade and with a few lightning fast slashes he had four large loins to work with and a few minutes later he had cleaned them up and separated the different cuts, the leaner, dark red _Akami_ that was commonly served as regular sushi, the medium fat _Chutoro_ and finally the rich, fatty _Otoro_ found in high class sashimi and sushi.

Calling for Emelie to help him bring the meat to the galley he began to work on the head, removing the strip of meat along the top of the head as well as the cheeks before tossing the rest of the head back into the water for scavengers to feed of.  
Finally he broke the spine and ribs into smaller sections, it would be smoked and added along with the fins, the scraps that had been polished of when cleaning up the loins and the tail to make a simple fish stock that would be combined with dried kelp to make Dashi for Ramen and Miso-soup as well as a few other dishes.  
The familiar work reminded him of Misato, the only mother he had ever known and it brought a slight pang of regret that he had not been able to visit or let her know he was still alive before she passed away nor had he been able to attend her funeral, but he couldn't risk it while the GCTI was still around and it was only a few months later that Daisuke had passed, the loss of his lifelong partner too much for him.  
He recalled how she would always tell him not to waste perfectly good food, and he knew she would have given him a good wallop on the head for throwing away the tuna head, but it was much too large to prepare in the small galley.  
Misato would have uncovered the fire pit, brought out her insanely large stockpot and cooked that head along with the rest of the bones and scrap.  
The Kiryu were a wealthy family and were at no risk of starving, but Misato insisted that every last scrap of food was taken care of and nothing wasted.

“Take? Em told us to help you.”  
The voices of Carol and Amy brought him out of his thoughts.  
“Ah, perfect timing. Would you girls take those bowls there?”  
He pointed to the bowls with the meat he had cut from the head and the trimmings while grabbing the large plastic tubs with the bones and fins himself.  
The large, clean, loins had been placed onto a carrying tarp similar to the ones used by firefighters, that way Emelie could lift it and carry it up to the bridge deck where the galley was located.  
Takeshi would cut it up into smaller pieces there and put it on ice, it would be much easier than trying to carry it through the rather narrow passages and staircases or doing the work down at the swim platform.  
The smaller tubs were manageable for Takeshi to simply jump up with, but the large loins were a bit of a hassle to carry like that and he didn't want to bruise his catch.

“Wow, that's a lot of tuna...”  
Alice gave the pile of tuna meat a somewhat wide eyed look.  
“Mhm, as you can guess we are eating tuna for dinner tonight.”  
“Oh, can we have some of that nice dip, like at the restaurant?”  
Sarah and Maria were as always eager for anything edible, and out of all the girls they were the most open to new foods, and clearly enjoyed good sashimi almost as much as Takeshi did.  
“Of course, I'm having Otoro sashimi with all the fixings.”  
The other girls were a bit hesitant about sashimi, and sushi with raw seafood or meat.  
“Don't worry girls, we will making grilled tuna steaks as well as some soup for you to enjoy.”  
Takeshi reassured them he wasn't about to make them eat the raw fish if they didn't want to.  
“And I'm having a nice poke bowl, though that's still raw so might not be to your taste. I would like it if you all at least tasted it though.”  
Emelie added her own preferences, and encouraged the girls to at least taste all new dishes they were exposed to.

After a hearty meal of grilled tuna steaks with all the fixings, Otoro sashimi and poke they spent the rest of the evening playing games in the saloon and once the girls were of to bed Takeshi asked Emelie to join him.  
His little fishing trip had given him some time alone with his thoughts, thoughts that had quickly shifted toward the future, and he found that he needed to talk to her about the plan to take down GCTI, and where to go after that.

“Em, I need to have a word with you.”  
“Hmm?”  
She moved to his lap and curled into her usual position.  
“As you know it's almost time for the final move against the GCTI.”  
To this she merely nodded.  
“But things won't be done with that, once the GCTI are gone Sumi and I will be going after the Kiryu family, specifically the council and the Kiryu assets. The council made perfectly clear they have no intention of ever allowing her to inherit the family assets, and by making me her Kage they also made me unable to inherit.”  
He shifted slightly so he could get his arm around her before continuing.  
“Before she left to join me in Alaska they tried to coerce her into marrying so that they could name her husband head of the family and then wait for a son that would eventually be named heir. Of course she has no intention of following their orders in that regard.”

There was a moment of silence while she considered his words.  
“So what are you gonna do?”  
“Well, we aren't entirely sure yet, but for now the plan is to use one of the Mother's tricks, similar to how she created your little pet here.”  
He tapped her serpent's head lightly with a claw causing it to hiss at him.  
“By using both mine and Sumi's blood we can create creatures whose blood when tested would appear to be that of our children. I will hack into the relevant databases and create the entries needed to make it appear like Sumi has given birth to a son and a few years later, a daughter and she will give them blood-samples to prove that those kids are ours, they will compare it to her DNA as well as mine that they have on file and as far as they will be able to tell it will prove her claim the she is the mother and I am the father. “  
Emelie looked a bit confused and interrupted him to ask her question.  
“But, won't that cause some issues? I mean you were raised like siblings, and are legally related.”  
“Well, it's not like we're actually related. Legally I'm her great Uncle, but Japan did away with restriction for relationships between non biological relatives quite some time ago, the only prohibited relation is with a legal guardian.”  
He responded with a snicker.

“As far as the council are concerned I'm not her brother, or family at all, anymore, they took that away when they named me Kage. And since we are not blood related they won't see any problem with it. They will rather name what they believe to be our bastard son heir, than name Kasumi, a female, heir. Chances are they will be more than happy to do so, hoping that a child of mine will have inherited my abilities. Maybe even be able to take the Ryuken from me since unlike me it would be of the Kiryu blood and to them a true heir, wielding the Ryuken and raised under their control would be just what they need.”

“They are idiots! I bet they are all old farts.”  
She practically growled and he couldn't help laughing at the way she voiced her opinion on that matter.  
“Apart from a few old hags, they are.”  
His reply caused her to start laughing as well and once she had calmed down a bit he continued.  
“When it's time for the coming of age ceremony where a new heir is formally recognized and presented with the family seal I'll simply attend, pretending to be my own son. Chances are we will have to keep doing things like that, fake offspring whose identities we assume, inheriting ourselves.”

He explained that things like that would be needed with their eternal youth.  
“Yeah, but even that might become hard, pretty much all developed countries use biometric ID registers for all newborns nowadays. DNA, fingerprints, palm and foot prints, iris and retina imaging. Only good thing I guess is that most of it is currently digital, hackable if you're good enough. But there has been a bunch of alerts about the system being vulnerable so they are working on building secure sites with hard-copies, including blood samples or umbilical cord kept frozen for future reference.”  
Emelie's counter forced Takeshi to pause for a moment and think about her words, and he had to admit he hadn't considered that development yet and told her as much, rewarding her insight with a kiss.

“Though, exposing how the GCTI has been exploiting the terrorism scare might prevent that development or at least slow it down, many are worried about the registers violating personal integrity and many are expressing concern that governments are abusing the scare to create a Big Brother society.”  
When she continued Takeshi just hummed in agreement and kept listening.  
“But even if the development is stopped, or reversed, we should try to get some sort of government access, a select few that can make the transition of assets, funds and identities easier, or maybe even able to create ways of making it unnecessary.”  
“Hmm, it's worth looking into.”  
He gave her a gentle nuzzle and was rewarded with a nose full of peppermint and from there things quickly turned carnal.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

As morning came around Takeshi once again woke up from the feeling of the twins entering the room, he was used to it as they were early risers and would sneak away from Melissa to come wake him and Emelie up and he quickly greeted them before chasing them out of the room screaming with laughter using the classic tickle threat with his own clawed twist.  
A groan pulled his attention back to the bed and the complaints of its inhabitant.  
“Do you have to make them so hyper in the morning?”  
Emelie asked him while using her tail to tug on his arm trying to get him to join her in bed a while longer.  
“Mhm, fastest way to get them out of here, it's also a nice safe way to wake you up without getting bitten.”  
Turning to her he flexed his claws with a grin and stalked toward him.  
“Not to mention it's good fun.”  
“Don't you dare!”  
She shrieked and tried to scamper away as he pounced on her and gave her sides a quick tickle before leaning in and nipping at her neck and collarbone which instantly rewarded him with the potent peppermint that was so uniquely her.

“If I get this treatment every time I guess I can live with it.”  
She hummed while running her nails along the scales on his back and he could feel the subconscious rise of her _seduction_ pulling at him.  
Knowing that Melissa and Amanda would make sure the younger girls got up and ate their breakfast he allowed her power to wash through him and gave in to its call, pinning her beneath him with a soft growl.  
Once they had sated their need for the moment the dropped by the bridge to check the weather data, their position and make some plans for the day.

“Take, this weather front here isn't looking too good.”  
Emelie brought his attention to the edge of the weather radar where a mass of clouds were starting to form.  
“Indeed...”  
Takeshi changed the display to take a closer look at the brewing storm.  
“That is definitely going to turn into a pretty nasty typhoon.”  
He could feel her aura gain an edge of concern.  
“What should we do, we are in the middle of the ocean here.”  
“If we keep on our course and head straight home at top speed we can beat the storm there, it will be close, but it's doable. Any other course would be far greater risk.”  
“Okay. Top speed it is...”  
He could tell that she was far from confident, but she trusted in his knowledge and experience which made the Beast stir with pride.

When they joined the girls at the aft sundeck Melissa shook her head and snickered at them, well aware of what they had been up to for the past hour and a half and while Emelie went inside to get them some breakfast Takeshi called for the girls.  
“Okay girls, I need you all to come here and listen carefully.”  
Takeshi waited for them to settle down before telling them about the change of plans.  
“We won't be stopping to play or bathe today...”  
He was interrupted by loud complains which he quickly silenced with a sharp look and a low growl which had the girls instantly silent and staring at him with wide eyes.  
It took a few moments before he realized he was growling and quickly got himself under control, ever since he had changed Melissa his more animal aspects had become even harder to suppress.

“Ah, sorry about that girls. But remember what I told you about instincts, and about challenging my authority. Interrupting is a very rude way to challenge my authority, and I may react rather strongly to it, especially if what I'm saying is important.”  
He apologized and explained before flashing them a fanged grin.  
“Bad doggy!”  
The twins scolded him for baring his fangs with a laugh.  
“Good girls don't interrupt. And they don't complain loudly when there are sensitive ears around.”  
He reminded them and they instantly went silent before apologizing in a soft whisper.  
“Sorry...”  
They both hung their heads and he gave them a gentle nip on the ear before ruffling their hair and giving them a kiss on the forehead, and the way they nuzzled the underside of his jaw instantly soothed his instincts and made the Beast within voice a pleased growl that was more like a purr.  
“Now shush girls and let me speak.”

Once hey settled down again he continued.  
“Like I said, we won't be stopping today nor tomorrow either, we have some nasty weather brewing and I intend to avoid it so we will hurry back home.”  
The girls nodded but moments later he picked up the distinct smell of fear and a quick check told him that his words had the twins terrified.  
“Maria, Sarah, what's wrong?”  
He kneeled down next to them, trying to shift their focus to him.  
He was unable to decipher what they were saying between the mumbling and the sobs but it was obvious that the prospect of severe weather scared them.  
“Easy, I can't understand you if you don't calm down.”  
He wrapped them in his aura but they wouldn't calm down so with a deep breath and a whispered apology he infused his voice with power.  
_“Slow down, calm yourself. Now tell me what is wrong.”  
_ The _command_ slowly started to take hold and their words began to make sense and what they told him had him silently cursing to himself.

When looking up their parents he didn't do any major background check knowing that the girls would never be returned to them, he had merely noted that they lived in Miami, but from what the twins were now telling them their parents must have moved there using the money they received for selling them to Roberts.  
They had in fact grown up just outside of Tulsa and it was with horror he realized that they had been in the path of the 2038 hyper-storm that had caused the worst tornado outbreak known to man.  
The massive tornado outbreak was the most violent ever recorded and over a 3 day period it had dropped a large number of EF3 and EF4 tornadoes as well as several EF5 tornadoes over Tulsa, leveling everything in their path.  
Despite the evolution of the early warning systems there had been little to no warning as tornadoes had touched down in, and ripped apart, several densely populated neighborhoods, and with repeated tornadoes touching down over the same areas rescue had been unable to get to the trapped victims, resulting in over 10.000 dead and large portions of the city completely obliterated.

Listening to them talk about it he had a hard time to remain calm as he realized that they had been home alone during the storms and it had been pure luck that their house had been in one of the areas least affected by the tornadoes, and even though they had not been hit directly by the tornadoes they had still suffered for 3 days without anyone looking after them or feeding them.  
“Ssh, easy girls. It's not that kind of bad weather.”  
He soothed them as he sat down next to them and shifted them into his lap.  
“It's just a bit of a rough sea, the waves would make it uncomfortable to be out here, and we don't want to get seasick now, do we?”  
He didn't tell them that a storm the size of the one the were trying to avoid would toss them around pretty bad, even the wavepiercer design wouldn't help them against those waves, it would be like riding a roller coaster.  
As the twins shook their heads the familiar sensation of Emelie's tail wrapping around his arm made him look over his shoulder and the question was clear in her eyes as she sensed both his fury and the twins' terror.

“ _When we get back to the island I'm going to kill their so-called parents. No more waiting, I will end them and they W_ _ **ill Know Fear**_ _!”_  
Emelie almost flinched at his rage before asking what had happened but once he had explained he could feel her echo the same raging fury.  
_“I'm coming with you.”_  
When he didn't answer her she pushed her power at him harshly  
_“Promise me!_ ”  
She demanded.  
_“I promise.”_  
He acquiesced  
_“Good, now eat and stop being grumpy, there's nothing we can do right now.”_  
She pushed the tray of food into his hands.

Once he had eaten he headed to the bridge to get a better look at the incoming weather and double check their course to make sure that it would keep them clear of it, if the storm kept moving at it's current speed and heading they would be able to outrun it.  
Reaching out with his mind he searched out the minds of the other Blessed telling them what he was about to do and why, but their reply puzzled him for a moment.

“ _Well fed. Well rested. Bodies strong.”  
“Children of the Mother or Slave of Men.”  
“Who will lead, who will follow?”  
“Ride the Waves, Race the Storm.”  
_

It took a few moments to decipher their words and he found that not only were they telling him that the could go faster, but the cheeky things were actually challenging them to a race and something inside him called to him to accept their challenge.  
“Girls, our finned friends wants to race us, what do you say we give them a good run?”  
He called over the intercom and he could clearly hear their cheering response without it.  
“Okay, a race it is. I need you girls to come up to the bridge and get strapped in so you don't fall and get hurt.”  
While Emelie helped the girls get strapped in Takeshi checked on the cargo and galley to make sure everything was secured before joining the girls on the bridge again.

When he began to go through the systems he could feel the Sayuri stir with something akin to excitement and he could swear he heard Ramirez voice telling him to _Show those glorified fish a thing or two.  
_ Moments later he could feel the presence of Shani surfacing and whispering to his soul.  
_“The winds are the daughters of the Goddess and those that trust in her may know her daughters.”_  
And with those words came a new sensation, he could feel the winds and currents, a look on the readout of the Doppler LIDAR only confirmed what this new sense was telling him.  
He could feel Daniels in the background, and much to his surprise even Maria and she rose in his mind and spoke.  
_“To truly become the fastest your vehicle must be like your own body.”_  
The sensation that followed her silent words reminded him of when he shifted in to the form of an animal, an awareness of a body different from his own and at some level he could feel Daniels as well, merging his senses with the computers, giving him direct access to the various system readings, he could feel the pressure and temperature of the engines, the condition of the power-cells just like he could feel his own heart-rate, body-temperature and how much stamina he had left in him.  
He could feel the movement of the water against the hulls as if it was his own skin and the rapid clicks of the dolphins echolocation tickled, as if someone was touching just the fine hairs on his arms and he **liked** what he was feeling.  
He knew it was not abilities they had had while alive, it seemed that in death the had been freed from the limitations of mortal beings.  
“Lets Race!”  
He called out, both to the girls and silently to his opponents.

“ _Chase the echo, hunters song.”  
“Swift like a dream.”  
“Race the Storm, Waverider.”_

He was getting used to the dolphins strange whistling song accompanied by images and concepts rather than words and somehow their short verses were beginning to make sense to him.

“ _The plenty runs deep, no storms in the dark below.”  
“Hurry, Hurry, the song calls to us.”  
“Song of the void-breathers.”  
“Wanderer will play.”_

The giant Manta Ray echoed the song of the dolphins in it's own way, not through whistles but through the touch of the ancient mind, telling them that it to would join the race, and Takeshi had no doubt that the creature could easily win if it wanted to.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“I'm hungry...”  
Sarah's soft complaint brought Takeshi's focus from the controls and displays and he quickly checked the time and it was indeed well past lunch.  
“I'm sorry sweetie. I was focused on keeping an eye on the storm. Em, are you okay to handle lunch on your own, or would you rather take the controls?”  
“How about I take the controls now, then you can rest a bit and take it tonight instead?”  
”Fine with me.”  
Takeshi stepped aside and let Emelie take the helm and as he did he could feel the awareness of the Tiamat fade into the background of his senses and he took a moment to let the sensation settle before turning to the girls..  
“I'm going to make some food, then help you to the dining room and get you secured there, okay?”  
They all nodded, though not without some teasing complaints about him being a worrywart and mother hen.  
They had their sealegs, but he was not about to take any chances, at the speed they were going a wave at the wrong angle could jolt them pretty bad and he didn't want to risk them falling and getting hurt.  
Hopefully they would be able to stay ahead of the big waves though, because a typhoon this size would be able to toss them around pretty bad if they got caught in it.

“Take, how long will it take before we get back home?”  
“Diane, don't speak with food in your mouth.”  
Takeshi scolded lightly and she quickly swallowed and repeated her question.  
“We should arrive tomorrow evening. You might not be able to get all that much sleep tonight though.”  
The Tiamat was still running fairly smooth thanks to its wavepiercer design, but the edge of the typhoon was closing in and they would start to feel it soon, by nightfall it would most definitely be noticeable.  
There were a lot more questions while they ate and Takeshi made sure to answer all of them to the best of his ability as it would help them keep calm.  
“Now, how about we head back to the bridge and get you girls strapped in?”  
“Okay...”  
“I'm bored...”  
“Don't worry, I'll go fetch your tabs and some flexes so we can play some games. And I fully expect you to do your lessons as well.”  
The groans that followed made him snicker and tease them while herding them back to the bridge.

“Here you go sweetie.”  
He handed Emelie a tray with food before taking her place at the helm so she could eat and once she had eaten they swapped back so he could rest, and entertain the girls.  
“So, what game would you girls like to play first? I was thinking some tabletop style games.”  
“Don't know.”  
“What games do we have?”  
“One moment, I'll share my game folder so you can have a look.”  
A few clicks later Takeshi had given them access to his personal collection of games.  
“Take, there are hundreds of games here...”  
“Mhm...”  
“How are we supposed to pick one from all of these?”  
“Well, I'll leave that up to you to figure out.”  
He sat back and watched as the girls had a rather lively debate about how to pick a game.  
“Take, do you have a randomizer program?”  
Not finding a viable solution they settled for just picking a random game and turned to him for a effective means of doing so.  
“No, but with a bit of help from Daniels I can make a simple one.”  
His words instantly had them at the edge of their seats and with a gentle tug he called on the spirit within the sayuri on his chest, and a few minutes later a simple randomizer was coded and ready for use.

“What's _Munchkin_?”  
Takeshi couldn't help a soft chuckle at what game ended up being selected.  
Munchkin was originally a fairly simple card game but over the years countless expansions and boosters had been released, and the digital deluxe version contained all of them, plus a few extra addition that allowed for the creation of far more diverse games than the original game.  
The original game had only been suitable for 3 to 6 players, but the digital version didn't really have much of a limit so Takeshi started to explain the basic rules.  
The rules were simple enough, though many of the cards would allow you to change, or break the rules, leading to endless possibilities of downright hilarious games.  
“Don't worry, I will just observe for the first game and help you get a hang of it.”

The first game lasted a lot longer than Takeshi thought it would as the girls quickly picked up on the various ways you could hamper the progress of the other players, Munchkin was just as much about messing with the others as it was about leveling yourself, if not more.  
Part of him couldn't help but feel proud at how deviously they made full use of the uniqueness of the game to mess with each other.

“Congratulations Julia, a well deserved win.”  
Takeshi praised Julia as the level meter on her character changed to 20, signaling her victory.  
“Do you want to play some other game, or more Munchkin?”  
“Keep playing!”  
“It was fun!”  
“Okay okay, more Munchkin it is. Do you want to play with the same settings, or change things up a bit?”  
“Can we split into smaller groups so we don't have to wait so long between turns?”  
“Of course, how about we do groups of 4?”  
“But, how? There's just 10 of us, 11 with you, or is Em going to join us?  
“I know sweetie, and no Em can't join us, but I can play in two games at the same time.”  
“Okay!”  
They quickly agreed to his suggestion, and after some talking they divided into three groups and soon they were eagerly engaged in the game.

“Okay girls, Take, time to round off and have dinner.”  
Em's amused reminder quickly brought the games to an end and Takeshi headed to the galley along with Melissa to make a quick dinner.  
“Now girls, after dinner you will have to make due without me, I need to get a bit of sleep as I will be at the helm all night, and probably most of tomorrow as well.”  
Takeshi's announcement brought about a few complaints that it was more fun to play with him in the game but they quickly settled down and agreed that his need to sleep was more important.

Returning from dinner Takeshi relieved Emelie at the helm and he could immediately feel a rise in the awareness of the Tiamat as he touched the controls, it was a bit of an odd feeling, but he actually liked it.  
Though that was probably more because it let him truly feel that his unit, the loved ones he had lost, were still with him.

”Go on, shoo. Go get your nap!”  
As Emelie returned she quickly chased Takeshi away from the controls and ushered him toward the door that lead into the captain's quarters.  
“Take, can we nap too?”  
A gentle brush against Sarah's aura told him she did indeed need to rest, and that was equally true for Maria.  
“Of course sweetie. Do you want to go to your cabin, or join me in the the captain's quarters?”  
There was no doubt in his mind what they would pick, so when she raised her arms toward him he just picked her up with a smile and shifted her to his hip so he could get Maria as well.  
“You have to promise to be quiet though even if you don't sleep so I can sleep.”  
“We promise!”  
He didn't think they would be much of a bother, when alone they usually used the familiars to communicate.

There really wasn't any reason for Takeshi to be concerned though, it only took moments for the emotionally exhausted girls to fall asleep and he found that their soft noises and relaxed scent was very calming and moments later he joined them.  
He barely registered that the door slid open and Melissa snapped a picture of him curled around the twins, keeping them safe so they wouldn't fall out of the bed in case the Tiamat started rolling.

A soft knock on the door brought him from his slumber and a quick look at his watch told him he had slept a lot longer than intended and he could feel that the twins were awake.  
Reaching out with his aura he found Melissa at the door and he silently invited her to enter.  
“The others have all gone to bed and Em would like it if you would join her for a while.”  
“Of course, will you help the twins over to your cabin please.”  
“But we wanna stay with you...”  
“I know sweetie, but I need some alone time with Em, and you really should go to your own bed and get more sleep.”  
“We're not sleepy.”  
“Of course not.”  
He nodded in mock agreement, he could feel how tired they were despite their nap.  
“Don't worry, Lissa will play games with you until you are sleepy again.”  
Melissa gave him a crooked look at the promise but she quickly nodded with a sigh.  
Takeshi knew her objections were mostly for show though, she actually enjoyed the sense of responsibility and trust that being in charge of looking after the twins gave her.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Hello beautiful, how are you feeling?”  
Takeshi slipped up behind Emelie and wrapped his arms around her.  
“Tired, and hungry... Staying focused like this is draining.”  
“Mmm, I know. I'm sorry, but you should have woken me up sooner.”  
He pulled her against his chest and enjoyed the way she leaned into him.  
“Nah, it's fine. But you better let me feed properly when we get back.”  
“Of course sweetie.”  
Leaning in he gently nibbled at her shoulders and drank in the energizing tang of peppermint, but he didn't push her any further.  
“Go on, go get some sleep.”  
“Nuh uh, I'm gonna sit here and keep you company for a few hours.”  
Her voice was light and teasing, and Takeshi was happy that she decided to stay, even more so when she snuck off to the galley and made a huge pile of various snacks that he would be able to eat throughout the night.  
“Thank you sweetie.”  
“I know your appetite, and we wouldn't want you to lose focus 'cause you're hungry.”  
“You do know I am perfectly capable to go a week or two without eating.”  
“I also know you easily eat for five...”  
“Oh, is that the only appetite you notice?”  
The teasing question rewarded him with another puff of peppermint as she bolted away with a laughing huff.  
“Oh, I intend to take full advantage of the other appetite of yours when we get back home.”

Takeshi had always had a healthy appetite for sex, and physical closeness in general, often keeping with more than one lover, or partner, but since Emelie's awakening his libido had gone into overdrive.  
At first he had believed it to be a reaction to her seduction, her need to feed, but the Beast within told him it was not entirely accurate, it wasn't her need to feed that was the cause as much as an alpha's instinctual need to form a pack and breed.  
The Beast had also told him that it was certain that Emelie was an alpha as well, though still immature, the blasted thing had been increasingly insistent on claiming her as pack, as co-alpha.  
Though it hadn't said anything yet, Takeshi knew it wanted her as a mate as well, and he was in total agreement on that point, he wanted to claim her with all that he was.

“Good night sweetie.”  
He called after her as she vanished through the door to the captain's quarters, the only answer he got though was a brush of aura and a sense of amusement and gratitude through the familiar.

 


	5. Stormborn

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Shoo, go, get, scram. _Schas._ ”  
Emelie chased Takeshi away from the controls in a rather energetic manner much to the girls amusement and he headed for the galley with a huff, she had made it perfectly clear that she expected him to eat and relax for a while before letting him back at the helm.  
Grabbing a hearty pile of food he returned to the bridge and took a seat on the floor where he made short work of the food before taking a few deep breaths and slipping into a shallow state of meditation to wrangle his energies back into a more relaxed pattern.  
After about half an hour he felt calm and relaxed so he slowly brought himself back to full wakefulness and headed over to the secondary control station and brought up all available weather data to make sure the typhoon was still moving as predicted.

“Hmm, this isn't good, the typhoon looks like it will be shifting slightly.”  
Takeshi could feel the spike of concern from the girls, especially the twins.  
“Can we still keep clear?”  
Emelie stay on task though, not letting the girls see her concern.  
“Yeah, I think so. But we will have to deal with some pretty rough sea at the home stretch.”  
“Then you should make sure to rest then and let me handle it for as long as possible.”  
“I will, thank you sweetie. Would you cut the engines for a few minutes while I go down and talk to the Blessed please.”  
“Of course.”  
Switching the screens back to the more general data he headed down to the swim platform and reached out for the minds of the pod, and Wanderer.

“ _Blessed, the storm is turning. We must run hard to reach the safe harbor before it overtakes us. Do you have the will and energy to run with us?”_  
It took a while before he got an answer, and Wanderer was first to touch his mind.

“ _Wanderer is old, Wanderer is strong.”  
“Wanderer can chase.”_

Takeshi suspected the giant could probably swim at their current speed for days, and probably faster if it wanted to, his concern was the dolphins.  
They had the speed capacity to math the Tiamat, but he was unsure about their ability to maintain such a speed..

“ _We swim, we chase.”  
“Wave of slave is small.”  
“But wave riding is blood.”_

It was getting easier to understand them, they spoke of bow riding, the way dolphins could ride in the bow wave of a vessel to conserve energy and move at speeds greater than what they were normally capable of.  
The problem was the wavepiercer design of the Tiamat, it made the bow wave of the Tiamat very small for a vessel her size, giving the dolphins preciously little space to ride in, but they relayed their confidence in their skill.

“ _Then we move, children of the Mother.”_

He echoed back at them while transmitting the image of the Tiamat running in front of the storm with dolphins at its bow before returning to the others on the bridge.

“So, what did out finned friends have to say?”  
Emelie greeted with a slight nod as he entered.  
“ _Floor It_. Though not with those exact words.”  
“Full speed ahead, Aye!”  
Emelie paired the cheerful reply with a mock salute which had Takeshi huffing at her which in turn made her stick her tongue out at him.  
“Cheeky little...”  
He grumbled softly as he took a seat next to the girls.

“Aren't they supposed to be the mature ones?”  
Anne's not quite whispered question made Melissa hush her with a snort and before long everyone was giggling and Takeshi allowed himself a soft chuckle.  
“Indeed we are, but that doesn't mean we can't be childish at times.”  
There were some quick agreements to that statement and he allowed them the moment before gently calming them down a bit.  
“Now, how about you girls show me how mature you can be and start working on your lessons?”  
“Aww... Do we have to?”  
“Not really, but it would make me very happy, and proud, if you at least try to progress your classes faster than the suggested pace.”  
Mentioning that it would make him proud, that it would please him, quickly had the girls opening their lesson software and start studying.

The reaction wasn't entirely natural though, it was a side effect of Takeshi's natural ability to gain the trust of others, while his protective nature, honor and distaste for dishonesty was an important part of it it wasn't the whole reason.  
The Beast had explained it as being part of his _Alpha nature_ , an instinctive need to develop bonds with those he considered to be his, and since he was not in full control of his instincts, not yet fully awakened as a true Alpha, those instincts tapped into his ability to force his will on others.  
The effect was fortunately rather mild, acting as a psychological conditioning of sorts that heightened their desire to please him, to earn his praise, to make him proud of them and also made them more prone to trusting him.  
He had made sure to explain to them what was going on, he didn't want them to feel as if he was taking advantage, or abusing his abilities in any way.  
The Beast had assured him that as he awoke to his Alpha nature his control over the effect he had on his pack, and potential pack, would increase.  
He really hoped it was correct, and that it would happen fairly soon, he hated the thought that he was unconsciously using his power on those around him.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take, would you mind taking over, the sea is getting pretty rough...”  
Emelie had been handling the Tiamat for several hours when she finally gave in and called for Takeshi to take over.  
“Of course not sweetie.”

The increasingly rough conditions meant that the Tiamat's powerful hydrojet engines needed to be monitored closely to ensure their angle against the waves remained within the proper range for the wavepiercer hull to do its thing, if they didn't keep a close eye on it there was a risk that the Tiamat could swing and end up being broadsided by the rising waves.  
The sea wasn't currently high enough to actually capsize a vessel of the Tiamat's size and design, but taking a broadside would cause her to roll quite heavily, and that would be troublesome.  
Not only would it slow them down significantly, putting them at risk of getting caught by waves big enough to actually put them at risk, it would no doubt scare the girls pretty badly, especially the twins.

Taking the helm Takeshi could feel the spirits within rise again, connecting his senses to the Tiamat and as that happened it quickly became obvious that the other blessed could sense it as they whistled songs of challenge against the hull of the Tiamat.  
He could feel his heart rate increase and his senses sharpen as adrenaline started to flood his system, but as much as he welcomed the rush he did take a few steadying breaths to make sure it didn't go to his head, while it improved performance it carried the risk of impairing his judgment.

Pushing the Tiamat to the edge of its ability kept them ahead of the typhoon and before long the top of the volcano that crowned their home became visible at the horizon, telling them they were almost home.  
“I can see the island!”  
Carol had her beloved binoculars in hand and was the first to see the peak among the waves at the horizon.  
Borrowing the binoculars Emelie quickly confirmed what Carol had seen and called out in a cheerful tone.  
“Land ahoy!”  
The somewhat playful call quickly had the girls cheering and chattering away and Takeshi had to agree that it would be good to be home again.

He could still feel the thrill of the race when he moved the Tiamat into the protected lagoon of their island, the dolphins that had broken away when he slowed down to navigate the narrow entrance immediately began exploring it while _Wanderer_ waited outside, too large to be able to enter without risking harming itself, or the corals around the entrance to the lagoon.

“ _Chosen, come.”  
“Share mind.”  
“See, learn.”_

 _Wanderer_ called for his attention and after a quick check with Emelie to make sure she was fine bringing the girls up to the house on her own he headed down to the swim platform and borrowed its form.  
Though he was much smaller than the ancient behemoth he still sported a wingspan of over 10 meters as he swam up to it.

“ _You called,Wanderer?”  
_

“ _Wanderer, Guardian, Ancient.”  
“Many names, good names”  
“Old names, past names”  
“Time of becoming, new names”  
“Guide to the Pathfinder, Whisperer of old Truth, Keeper of the Past.”  
“Now we change, become other than we were.”  
“You are now Guardian, Chosen, Pathfinder.”_

As the final words echoed through his mind Takeshi could feel something similar to the power of the blessing and the giant form of _Wanderer_ began to glow with power and it reached out to touch him before falling in on itself and when the light faded the behemoth was gone and in its place was a small, newborn, manta ray, just a meter across.  
Takeshi looked at it with confusion, this was not a transformation, the borrowing of a different form, somehow he knew that it had completely abandoned its old body and taken a new one, permanently.

“ _I am now yours to protect as you are mine to guide.”  
“To learn your ways I had to change, start again.”  
“It will still take time, but I will learn.”  
“To think, speak, feel and understand.”  
“In ways your kind can know.”_

It was beginning to make sense, somehow its mind was less alien to him now, easier to understand and that seemed to be the purpose, it still spoke in the broken, verse like manner but it was regular words now rather than images and concepts.

“ _We need to find you a better name if you are going to stick around, how about I call you 'Stormborn' for now?”_  
He could feel the edge of the storm closing in and it would be over them by nightfall.

“ _A good name, Waverider.”  
“I will be, Stormborn.”  
_

“ _You need to learn to call me Takeshi, or Take.”  
_He countered with a laugh as he began leading it into the safety of the lagoon.  
As they reached the lagoon and the area where the helix piles for the Tiamat's mooring lines was dug deep into the bottom Takeshi felt a strange sensation wash over him, like a pressure wave passing through the water and shortly after the twins familiars began to call out for him with a frantic tone.  
He quickly realized the sensation must have been what a lightning strike felt like to a manta ray and that it had scared the twins.  
_“I need to go, the twins, my youngest, they fear the storm. I need to be there to help them.”  
_

“ _Go, protect what is yours.”  
“As the still deep shelters the children of the sea.”  
“Be the calm to shelter them from the storm.”  
_

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Pushing his borrowed body to the max Takeshi leaped out of the water and instantly replaced the aquatic form with one of the raptors of the sky before streaking toward the house, and the girls he had promised to protect, body, mind and soul.  
“Take! Help me with them, I can't suppress their fear.”  
Emelie met him as he transformed mid flight and dropped onto the deck, landing in a crouch, a split second later he was at their side, wrapping them in his aura, letting all his protective and nurturing instincts rise and reflect in his aura.  
“Ssh, easy. I'm here. You are **not** alone, I won't leave you.”  
He quickly moved to sit on the flooring next to them so that he could scoop them up into his lap moments later a distant rumble had them whimpering again and he pulled them closer.

“Don't worry, you are safe here, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you.”  
He tried soothing them but it wasn't having much effect.  
_“Maybe we should move them inside? Down to the room next to the generator room, they can't hear the storm down there.”_  
Emelie suggested silently as she watched him try to calm the girls.  
_“No, just hiding won't help them, they need to see that not all storms are bad, that they can be safe despite it. Take the others inside, I'll stay here with them and help them face their fears.”  
_Emelie just nodded and did as he asked, he had helped her overcome her own fears much the same way and she trusted he could do the same for the twins.  
“Where are they going? Why are they leaving? Don't leave!”  
They clung harder to him and he suppressed a wince as they began pulling his braid loose as they twisted their hands into it to stop him from leaving.  
“Ssh, they're going inside but I'll stay, I won't leave you. Come sit with me.”  
He brought them to one of the sofas in the sitting area of the patio.

“Can we go inside? Please?”  
They were looking toward the horizon where the storm had begun its light show.  
“No, I'm sorry but you need to stay here with me. Face your fear, I promise you will be safe.”  
He carefully wove a mix of _suggestion_ and _command_ to support them, to help them face their fear but without pushing them beyond their limit.  
As the storm came closer he focused on soothing their auras, whispering words of comfort without any real meaning, mixing his native Japanese and English with the Spanish, Swedish and Swahili he had picked up from his unit as well as several other languages he had picked up during his time with the GCTI, just using his voice to soothe them.

Without thinking he began to hum one of the songs Misato used to sing for Kasumi, the song, _'Shihouka'_ , was from an anime Kasumi watched when they were kids and she had always loved it so Misato would sing it to her and after hearing it so many times he knew it by heart.  
When he began to sing the lyrics the twins seemed to forget about the storm as they turned to look at him with wide eyes.

“ _Watashi no kawaii ningyou”_  
“ _Suteki na kimono kisemashou”  
“Kirakira kin no kanzashi”  
“Shiawase wo ageru”  
_

They sat silently listening, captivated by the song despite not understanding the words.

“ _Megumi ooki yutaka na kuni”  
“Kaze ga soyogi”  
“Machikado ni kikoeru uta”  
“Towa ni chikau shiawase wo”_

 

“Doggy can sing!”  
Sarah exclaimed once he finished, he wasn't sure if he should feel complimented or insulted at the wonder in her voice.  
“Can you sing like a real dog?”  
After a moment of confusion he realized what she was asking and altered his vocal cords before taking a deep breath and giving voice to the primal song of the wild, within he could feel the beast stir and add its own voice to his, carefully untangling himself from the girls he stood in front of them and took the form of the beast.  
The partial transformation didn't give justice to the true depth of the howl and he could feel instincts pull at him as he raised his maw to the skies.  
The twins seemed mesmerized by the sound and when it finally faded they began laughing and clapping their hands before burrowing their faces in his fur, and since playing with his fur seemed to distract them from the storm he simply lay down on the floor and curled around them.  
As he settled down he began teasing them a bit by _accidentally_ thumping them with his tail every now and then or give them a quick lick which instantly rewarded him with a complaint about _'Icky doggy kisses'_.

As the storm intensified over them he could feel their anxiety increase again and when a large lightning bolt streaked overhead he found himself wanting to hide from the combined sound of the thunder crash and the shriek from the girls and he resumed his true form as it was easier to dim his hearing it that form.  
“Ow, easy girls, sensitive ears here.”  
“Oops, sorry.”  
Takeshi's soft complaint about their volume seemed to distract them a bit as they instantly apologized.  
“Don't worry, but please try to remember.”  
Another bolt streaked across the dark sky and they both whimpered and buried their faces against his shoulders.  
“No need to hide, you are safe here. The lightning can't reach us.”

When they built the new estate they had also added lightning protection, Takeshi had taken inspiration from a new system that acted like a Faraday cage, but he had used crystals grown in the Sanctuary to create it, they manipulated electromagnetic fields as well as geomagnetic fields and telluric currents to generate a bubble over the island that protected it much the same way the Earth's magnetic field protects it from the Sun's emissions.  
Even if lightning did strike it, it would dissipate along the surface of the field, it was a rather spectacular sight to watch which gave him an idea, it might scare them a bit but maybe, just maybe seeing it happen might ease their fear.  
Reaching out with his aura he touched the central crystal with it, slightly altering the energy so that it would increase the chance of a lightning strike rather than decrease it.

“Okay girls, I want you to look up. You will see something really amazing soon.”  
With a slight push of his aura he pushed the altered energy into the field and just moments later a massive bolt of lightning struck the top of the slightly flattened dome causing tendrils to spread across it, much like how an anvil crawler would spread along the underside of a thundercloud, passing harmlessly along the field into the water.  
First they startled and seemed to want to hide, but as the tendrils slowly dissipated along the dome they both stilled.  
“Wow, pretty!”  
As they watched strike after strike play across the field he could finally feel their fear dissipating and they were truly calming down.

After watching the show for a while their familiars suddenly both took to the air and headed for the energy field, causing the twins to cry out in concern, while he wasn't sure what the little birds were up to he was sure they were in no danger.  
“Don't worry, they know what they are doing.”  
Having no idea just what that was he hoped it wasn't anything too insane.

They watched as the small birds passed through the dome and began to circle each other while climbing higher into the air, the circle growing tighter each time around, and when they were almost touching an intense lightning bolt cut through the skies, much stronger than anything Takeshi had ever seen before.  
It was a superbolt, a rare form of lightning, capable of reaching a hundred times the intensity of a regular bolt and it hit both of the birds before scattering across the dome.  
The girls both cried out in worry for their feathered friends but he could feel that they were not harmed, if anything their presence grew stronger.

“Easy, trust your senses. You can still feel them, they are fine.”  
Once the energy from the bolt had dissipated they both came flying back down, and as they came close he could see that they had changed, their blue and purple tail-feathers now had lightning playing along them, a similar effect could be seen across their wings.  
“It seems like your little friends have decided to become thunderbirds.”  
He told them with a smile.  
_“Phoenix of the Storm!”  
_The familiars corrected him in a very familiar fashion and the girls instant giggles told him that they had _spoken_ to all of them.  
“Hai, hai. _Phoenix_ it is.”  
He agreed with a grin before sitting back to watch the twins play with their familiars, the storm still above them all but forgotten. _  
_

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

As he leaned back he could feel Emelie stepping out into the garden and walking up behind him and as she slid her arms around his neck she whispered in his ear.  
“You know, you make a pretty great dad.”  
His smile turned into a teasing smirk as he pulled her over the back of the couch and into his lap,  
“Well, Not counting our _adopted_ girls, I **am** a father of eight...”  
“What? You have never mentioned having kids.”  
She sounded surprised and a bit confused.  
“During my stay in Alaska there was this Blessed, Sarisha of the Sabre-tribe, who came to give Kasumi the Trial of Blood. Her blood is that of the sabre-toothed cat, and she was the last of her tribe able to take its form and there was no male who carried enough of the blood for her offspring to become true members of the Sabre-tribe.”

He waited for her to shift into a more comfortable position before continuing.  
“It turns out however as the Chosen, I carry the blood of all the tribes and any offspring I sire with another Blessed will be entirely of their mother's tribe so our children are pure Sabre. I have sired three litters of cubs with her.”  
Emelie interrupted him for a moment.  
“Litters? Cubs?”  
“Yeah, female Blessed carry their offspring like their beasts do, so in her case having triplets is the norm and well, the offspring of a great cat is a cub.”  
He explained with a laugh.  
“How come I have never gotten to meet them? I bet they are adorable!”  
She instantly countered.  
Takeshi took a deep breath and a solemn note entered his voice.  
“Sarisha and the cubs are with her tribe, she is recovering from the loss of our youngest.”

His voice became quiet as he recalled what had happened.  
“The first two litters were born without issues, first twin sons and a daughter, the second litter gave us three more daughters, identical triplets. But during her third pregnancy something went wrong,”  
With barely more than a whisper he continued.  
“She carried twin girls and a boy, when she went into labor the boy was born first, then one of the girls, but the second girl was weak and didn't come as she should and when she was finally born it was too late, she had passed away.”

Emelie buried her face against his chest and he could smell her tears and sorrow radiated from her aura.  
“I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have...”  
When she finally spoke up after a few minutes he immediately interrupted her by placing a kiss on her forehead  
“Ssh, don't blame yourself, you didn't know.”  
She twisted slightly in his arms and placed her hand over the Sayuri over his heart and he could feel her aura probing his.  
“So many losses, so much pain. How do you keep going?”  
He carefully lifted her head, kissing away the tears.  
“There is a lot of pain yes, but there are many more reasons for me to keep going. My duties to Kasumi, my oath of vengeance for my unit, my promise to your mother that I would bring you the truth. My promises to you, and now the girls.”  
After a moment of silence he added his final point,  
“And finally the future that the Mother chose me to try to protect.”  
Emelie looked at him silently for a long time before speaking up.  
“It won't be easy, will it? Living forever I mean.”  
“It won't.”  
He agreed without argument.  
“Guess it's true what they say, that immortality is a curse, not a blessing.”  
He could feel the taint of fear and worry as she spoke.  
“You know I will do anything in my power to make sure you will never be left behind, never have to be alone. I know there will be losses, but I swear I will do everything in my power to help you through eternity.”  
When she was about to say something he put a finger over her lips and shook his head, asking her to to remain silent.

Reaching into his mouth he pulled out one of his elongated fangs and with a flare of power he reshaped it into a simple ring, using his other fangs he bit into his finger and allowed his blood to flow onto the band and under the effect of his aura it formed a band along the center of the ring and once it stopped flowing it turned crystalline, almost as if it had been cut from a ruby.  
Holding it out to her he spoke as he wove his aura into it, kanji forming on each side of the ruby center as he did.  
“I am many things, both good and bad and I will become many more. But there is one thing I have no intention of ever becoming, and that is an Oath-breaker.”  
When the small kanji stopped forming it wrapped almost the entire way around the ring and with a final flare of his aura the crystallized blood formed the kanji for _Eternity_ , it was larger than the others, covering the width of the ring and it glowed with the fire of his power as he held out the ring to her.  
“Eternity is my oath to you, will you accept it?”

 

Emelie watched silently as Takeshi created a ring from his fang and blood, over the past few years she had learned a lot about him, and one of those things was that he placed great value on rituals and symbols.  
This was not something he would do on a whim and to him, who placed such value on a simple promise, an actual oath was something he would hold above his own life.  
She wanted to stop him, tell him she was not worthy of that but she knew that it wouldn't do any good, once he had his mind set on something he was the most stubborn person she had ever met.  
He should also know how uncomfortable things like this made her and still he want and did it, and without warning, so with a glare she slightly flared her aura, rejecting the probing touch of his.  
At the same time she unfurled her tail from his wrist and finally she released her pheromones to confuse his sense of smell, effectively denying him any of the contact and clues he was used to.  
As his gaze locked on her eyes she knew he was trying to read her but when she bared her fangs at him he actually closed his eyes as he turned his face down, finally allowing her the privacy she was demanding.

She sat silently as if considering his oath, but it was just a show, she had no intention of refusing it, which is why she made sure to cut him off or he would be able to tell.  
She was upset that he did this without giving her a warning, she knew how important things like this was to him, she knew there was a proper, formal way to respond to his request, but she didn't know what it was, if he had given her a warning, time to prepare herself, she could have asked Kasumi to show and explain what to do, like she had done about a year ago when he and his beast had formally asked her to become _pack_ , she still had not answered them on that though.  
As she watched him she noticed the muscle in his jaw repeatedly tense up and relax, taking a closer look at him the tension in his shoulders became obvious and when she looked at his hands there was blood where his claws dug into his palms.  
Carefully she hooked one of the talons on her wings under his chin making him raise his head and as he did his eyes remained closed, still respecting her wish for privacy.

“Em? Please...”  
His voice carried a pleading note and it was with surprise she began to sense fear from him, not the usual worry and concern he would often display in regards to the well being of those around him but actual fear, fear that she would reject his oath.  
She leaned in slowly, still keeping his senses off balance and when he was about to open his eyes she stopped him.  
“Don't.”  
As she did she could see the muscles in his jaw tighten again and hear him suck in a sharp breath and hold it for a few moments before slowly releasing it, as he did she leaned in and kissed him.  
_“Of course I accept, silly.”  
_His arms were instantly around her, pulling her tightly against him he returned the kiss with fervor, stealing her breath away with the sensation of his power flowing through her.  
_“Domo.”_  
Part of her prayed the feeling would never end, but that prayer went unheard as a loud whisper from inside interrupted them.

“Lissa, did he just propose? Are they getting married? Can I be the flower-girl?”  
“Julia!”  
Melissa hissed in response trying to silence her but the moment was over.  
Takeshi and Emelie looked at each other for a moment before breaking down into laughter which drew the twins attention and spoiled any chance to rekindle the moment.  
Corralling the twins inside and off to bed they retreated to their own room to find some privacy. _  
_

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Julia is going to be so disappointed when she finds out we're not actually getting married.”  
Takeshi teased as he put the ring symbolizing his oath on her right ring-finger where it instantly adjusted to a perfect fit.  
_“Det är hon inte ensam om.”  
_Emelie hissed in Swedish.  
“Hmm, what was that?”  
Takeshi prodded but the teasing tone told her that he had understood enough to pick up on her disappointment over the interruption but she decided to take the bait anyway.  
“Do you have any idea just how frustrating that damned control of yours can be?”  
She turned her back on him while she gathered herself.  
“Your power is always so restrained, reined in tightly and subdued. But every now and then you give a brief taste of your true power. To me as a succubus it's as if I have lived my entire life with nothing but a small candle and suddenly I'm standing before a blazing sun.”

Turning around to face him again her shoulders dropped.  
“Please, just once. Will you just once allow me to feel the real you? Not just this shadow of yourself. Not just a glimpse, but truly feel you...”  
As her voice faded away he stepped up and gently wrapped his arms around her.  
“I'm sorry, I didn't know. You need to tell me these things.”  
But he quickly dropped her and stepped back when she snarled at him.  
“Even this! How many times do I have to tell you I'm not some porcelain doll that might break at the slightest touch? I am a **demon** dammit, a **Lilim** ! I am just as durable and strong as you are and I heal just as fast!”

Before he had a chance to react her nails flashed with power and she dug them deep into her arm at the elbow and tore down to the wrist but when he tried to step in to stop the bleeding he was blocked by her wings and a vicious snarl, a torrent of her power forced him to stand back and watch as her wounds healed and it tore at his soul to watch her bleed, the beast was tearing at the restraints within.  
“Em, please. Enough.”  
When she raised her hand as if she was about to tear into her shoulder his control snapped and with a snarl he pushed past her power and her wings, grabbing her arms to keep her from hurting herself again.  
“ **Enough!** ”  
The presence of the beast was obvious in his voice as he growled out the _command_ , pushing all his will into making sure she would stop.

He was all fangs, claws and primal force when he let go of her arms and put one arm around her, placing his hand at the small of her back, the other hand wove into her hair, pulling her close and tilting her head back as he claimed her lips harshly.  
She could feel his claws against her skin and scalp, taste the slight taint of blood as fangs cut lips and she relished the near crushing force of his arm almost desperately pulling her closer.  
As she dug her nails into the unprotected part of his shoulders the tight coils of his aura finally unfolded, and when it wrapped around her she found herself standing in the middle of an inferno, a raging storm and she realized that even those glimpses she had felt before were mere shadows compared to the raw essence that was Takeshi.  
“Please... I need...”  
She pleaded with desperation, she didn't really know just **what** she was pleading for, she just knew she needed it, badly.  
But somehow Takeshi seemed to know, or maybe it was the demon-beast within him that knew.

With the storm still raging above something new and demonic, something purely primal, was born between them. _  
_

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi woke up from the sensation of sharp nails tracing along the edge of the Sayuri on his chest and was slightly confused at first, normally he would wake up about an hour before Emelie but it was obvious she was not only awake, but had been so long enough to get bored.  
_**“We gave her a lot of ourselves during the night so it's not such a strange thing.”** _  
The beast was literally purring from within.  
_**“We gave without restraint, she took everything we had to offer. And now she is Pack, just look at her, feel her!”** _

At the mention of Pack Takeshi's eyes flew open and zeroed in on her shoulders and true to the beast's words her left shoulder now sported the mark of a dragon engulfed in flames and smoky shadows, it was much larger and more elaborate than the mark Melissa had received when he gave her the Blessing, closing his eyes he turned to the beast within.  
_“How come her mark is so different from Melissa's?”_  
He questioned it, hoping it would explain for once.  
_**“She is Pack, she is Alpha at our side. The girl, Melissa, bears your mark because you granted her life through the Blessing, while under our protection, she is not Pack.”** _  
It provided one of its rare explanations but as usual it gave rise to more questions than it answered but then something crossed his mind, he couldn't recall actually making her pack, in fact all his memories of the night were hazy at best.

“ _Wait, we claimed her as pack during the night? P_ _ **lease**_ _tell me we didn't do that without her permission?!”  
_He nearly yelled at the beast.  
_**“For the mark of Pack to take when claiming a co-alpha both the one giving it and the one receiving it must be in agreement, they must both want it, or in our case, all three as you and I must also be in agreement that the one marked is worthy of becoming Pack, of becoming our equal.”**_  
Takeshi dropped down on the ground of his mindscape in relief.  
_**“Worry not, I am aware how you both feel about the right of choice, and I agree that allowing the choice is important. But be aware, I consider survival more important than allowing choice. If it ever stands between the survival of someone we truly want and their choice, I will fight you to save them, regardless of their choice.”**_ _  
“And depending on who it is I might just let you win that fight...”  
_Takeshi agreed silently before retreating from his inner world.

“Someone is energetic this morning.”  
He teased as he opened his eyes again.  
“Morning? It's nearly noon sleepyhead. I have been waiting for hours for you to wake up.”  
A quick look at his watch confirmed what she was saying.  
“Hmm, I guess we might have to be a bit careful about these activities, as much as you enjoy them, and well, I can't say I didn't, they seem to leave me rather drained.”  
He could feel the instant drop in her mood and he hurried to assure her that things would not go back to how they had been.  
“Ssh, I promise you we will still have nights like these, just not every night, okay?”  
“I guess...”  
She returned her focus to the Sayuri, tracing them with her nails.  
“I swear I can still feel mom's presence in this one.”  
Takeshi looked at her in surprise as she had at several occasions shown that she was aware of her mother's presence.   
“Of course you do. You even showed the twins how to feel her...”  
His confusion made her laugh and explain a bit more what she meant.  
“I know silly, but I mean not just just a remnant or echo of her, but her, the real her.”  
She gently brushed her thumb across the flower that held Maria's spirit.  
“That's because part of her is there, will always be there.”  
“But I though she moved on after I spoke to her in Alaska?”  
“Her soul did, but her spirit, the part of her that was uniquely her, chose to remain behind, her personality, her knowledge and skills.”  
The confused look on Emelie's face prompted him to explain further.

“We are all made up of three distinct parts. The body, our flesh, is the vessel that houses the other two. The Soul, is the force that gives the body life, it absorbs all that we learn during our life and in doing so it grows and evolves before returning to its origin, taking that experience with it when we pass away.”  
He carefully removed her hand from the flowers and let some of his power flow through them, making each glow with its own color.  
“The Spirit is what makes each of us who we are, our personality, our skills, it is what animates the flesh that the soul has given life. Body and Spirit together allows for the use of Qi, the power of the soul, but the Soul is what determines just how much of it there is to wield.“  
She reached for the flower that held her mother's spirit and the gentle glow reached for her in recognition.  
“Their spirits and souls were bound within these Sayuri, when your mother deemed my oath fulfilled her soul moved on while her spirit remained, binding itself to my soul, so now it is my life-force that sustains her spirit, in return she gives me part of what she was, like her talent as a driver and a thief but also a part of her instinct as a mother, reinforcing my own desire to protect those who are too young to protect themselves.”

Touching each of the others in turn brought a wistful smile to his face.  
“Perhaps the others will do the same when they deem my oath to be done.”  
“I hope they do. You deserve to keep something of them with you forever.”  
Putting her hand back over the flowers she pushed that thought toward them, hoping that somehow they would hear her and the slight responding push gave her hope that they had indeed heard her.  
She rolled over on her side and put her head on his chest, perfectly content to spend some more time being lazy in bed. _  
_

“So, we're back home, whats next?”  
She suddenly piped up which made Takeshi groan for a moment, he preferred the prospect of cuddling all day to having to talk about serious matters.  
“Now we wait for the fallout of our unwilling accomplices work. If everything goes according to plan GCTI will go down in flames once the information hits the media. It will hit all media at once, and thanks to the software on that flash drive, software that Daniels created while she was still alive, the files with the information will spread like wildfire once uploaded to the global network. There is no way they will be able to stop it in time.”  
“Hmm, waiting again huh? You know how easy I get bored of waiting.”  
With a smile she straddled his waist and pushed him down which earned her a slight growl and a flash of fangs which was instantly rewarded with a waft of peppermint.  
Mindful of her wings he flipped her over on her back and propped himself up above her.  
“Don't worry, we have a little something to do before that.”  
“Time for the twins so-called parents to get their due, huh?”  
“Hmm, when did I become so easy to read?”

Slowly he began to trace the mark on her shoulder with a sharp claw, at a quick glance it looked like a regular tattoo, but looking closer his senses told him that the pigment was not a dye but rather a mix of naturally occurring pigments, his human power, a touch of Kiryu's shadow power, and Emelie's demonic power, when he ran his fingers over the smoke that surrounded the image of the dragon it became obvious that it was not a tattoo as it twisted and shifted under his touch.  
“It's beautiful, your mark. I just wish it had real scales like yours does.”  
She whispered as he inspected the mark.  
He only considered her words for a brief moment before reaching over his shoulder and pulling loose one of the scales from his back, with a whispered apology he used a claw to cut into her shoulder and pushed the scale in under her skin before pushing his Qi into both the scale and the cut, healing the cut and causing the scale to change and reform into hundreds of tiny scales across her mark.  
“There, all done.”  
She reached up and Takeshi could hear a metallic sound as she traced the new scales with her nails, she didn't say anything but he could feel her reaction play through her aura.  
“You didn't have to...”  
She suddenly scrambled to look over his shoulder  
“You ruined your tattoo!”  
“Don't worry. Remember, it's alive, part of my body, the missing scale will grow back in a few days.”  
“Still...”  
“Shush, it's something I could easily do, so why not?”  
“You are impossible, you know that?”  
“Hmm, and here I thought I was horrible.”  
Whatever she was about to counter with was silenced as he leaned in and claimed her lips and pinning her beneath him before she had a chance to use her nails to show her temper. _  
_

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“So, what do you think?”  
Takeshi turned to Julia after pushing her desk into place.  
It had taken them the better part of a week to get all the furniture moved to the girls' rooms and get it all put together, but it was finally coming together, and rather nicely as well, Julia however didn't seem entirely pleased.  
“I don't know... I don't like the light...”  
“Oh, why not?”

Takeshi wanted to make sure the girls all liked their room, and he knew full well that their tastes would probably change quite a few times as they grew up, but he would make sure to change things when they wanted too.  
He was slightly surprised at how strongly he felt about it, and the cursed Beast just gave him a smug line about how important a proper den was to the safety and well being of a pack.

“I...”  
She hesitated slightly and her aura and scent gained a nervous and somewhat embarrassed edge.  
“It's okay, just tell me what's wrong.”  
“It's the light... It's wrong. I don't like the ceiling lamp...”  
“We can dim it if you think that would be better?”  
“No... I want fairy lights!”  
When she finally managed to get her wish of her chest Takeshi chuckled at her.  
“Well then, we better get you some nice fairy lights then. How about we check online for models you like then we can make something similar using Sanctuary crystals?”  
“Okay...”  
She paused for a moment before adding another request.  
“Can I have of those cool lamps with like a million little hairs that makes it look like stars?”  
“Oh, you mean one of those fiber optic lamps?”  
“I don't know what they are called.”  
Takeshi quickly searched for an image on his tab and showed it to her.  
“Mhm... That's it!”  
“Of course you can. Why don't start up your computer so we look at those lights you want.”  
“Okay!”

A few minutes later they were looking at all kinds of designs for fairy lights and decorative fiber optic lights.  
“Oh, look at those cute flowers! And the birds and butterflies!”  
She was quickly jumping from one image to another and Takeshi had a hard time keeping up.  
“Sweetie, make sure to save all the pictures you like, then we can have another look and pick out a nice collection.”  
“Mhm...”  
She just hummed at him, completely engrossed in where the various searches were taking her, adding some fantasy inspired hanging lanterns and wall mounted lanterns..

“Wow...”  
When she suddenly stilled and breathed a soft sound of amazement Takeshi knew they had found the right lights for her, and much to his relief, and amusement, she was looking at something the page called _Mushroom Lamps.  
_It would be easy to actually grow mushrooms in the Sanctuary planters that looked like what she wanted.  
“Julia, I want you to join me in the vivarium and look at some of the Sanctuary creatures and plants. Many of them are luminescent.”  
“Lumi... what?”  
“Luminescent, it means they are able to generate light.”  
“Oh, okay.”  
“That is if it would be okay with you to have living , crystal, mushrooms that glows instead of lamps that look like mushrooms.”  
“It is! It is!”  
She was jumping with joy at the prospect of having Sanctuary lifeforms as her lights.  
“You will still keep the ceiling lamp and desk lamp, you will need proper lights when studying and cleaning your room.”  
“Okay...”  
The drop in spirit only lasted for a moment before she was back to being eager, and hyper.

It didn't take long before the other girls dropped in to see what they were doing, and soon they all asked for various decorative lights for their own rooms as well.  
“Okay girls, calm down. I will make a list of all the things you want and make them when I have free time, okay?”  
There was a few disappointed sighs, but the did agree that it was okay to wait a bit.  
Takeshi would complete Julia's lights though, then he and Emelie would make plans to take out the twins' biological parents, they both agreed they wanted that done as soon as possible. _  
_

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Sweetie, is there no way I can convince you not to join me in taking out those bastards?”  
“No! I felt their pain! Their fear!”  
Takeshi sighed deeply, he hadn't given up hope just yet though.  
They would be leaving soon to take out the monsters that sold their own daughters, plans were made and and they had told the girls they would be leaving on a short mission, without giving them any details, they had not been happy, but the promise that they would only be gone for a day had managed to calm them down somewhat.

With the girls sleeping soundly and their plans done their attention quickly turned to more pleasurable pursuits and soon Emelie was pulling at Takeshi's aura, begging him to release it, to let her feel his full power again.  
“Take, please, I need more. I need all of you...”  
For a moment he hesitated, not wanting to weaken himself the night before an operation, but there was something about how her aura flickered and wavered that made the Beast howl at him to give in, to give her what she needed.  
It was telling him she needed energy to develop properly and that denying her that, while not actually harming her, would slow her growth.  
And he had to admit, to himself at least, that he enjoyed it greatly, he just wished she would open up as readily, but she was afraid of losing control of her power.

 

 


	6. The end of an Era

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

As the sun was setting Takeshi and Emelie headed to the Blackout, their destination, Miami and the scum that had mistreated and sold their own daughters.  
“Em, please, you don't need to come along for this, you shouldn't come along. This will not be pretty, they will not get an easy death.”  
He knew it would be messy, he could feel the beast fanning his fury and he quite frankly wanted to tear them apart and he gave it one last try to try to get her to stay.  
“Stop it, you won't talk me out of this. Are you forgetting I touched their fear out on the yacht? I will make sure those monsters feel that same terror before they die!”  
“Ssh, sweetie, easy. I won't ask again.”  
He shook his head with a sigh and tried to sooth her temper.  
He didn't like the idea of her being there, seeing him do what he knew he would, he liked the idea of her actually being a part of it even less.  
Despite everything he still wanted her to remain as innocent as possible.  
“I just wish you would stay away from this.”

Taking his seat he went through the system checks for primary systems while she took care of the secondary systems check from the co-pilot's terminal.  
“I know, you don't want me to see the dark sides of this world, of you. But you seem to forget that I already have. I know you have dark side, heck, I'm pretty sure that darker side of you is more of the true you than the side you show everyone else.”  
She uncurled her tail and wrapped it around his wrist, nowadays the familiar gesture comforted him as much as it did her.

It was early morning when they bypassed the security-system of the Miami house that the twins' parents had bought using the money Roberts had payed them to sell their daughters.  
Takeshi glared at the sickening sight in front of them, the young couple were alternating between begging for their lives, trying to bribe them, threaten them with their _contacts_ and when that didn't work they had tried to appeal to their mercy, pointing out that the woman was pregnant.  
A quick look at her aura confirmed the presence of two tiny flickers in her womb, twin girls again and it made Takeshi hesitate, while every part of him screamed that the parents had to die it went against everything that he was to harm a child, even an unborn one and when he felt Emelie's aura flare with fury and power he made a move to stop her.

“Em, don't.”  
“Back off! You will **not** try to stop me!”  
Never before had her power washed over him with such force and in his weakened state from the previous night he found himself unable to move as he struggled to free himself from her influence.  
Trying to pull more power from within he could feel the beast turning away from him, denying him access to its reserve.  
_**“Let her do what needs to be done.”  
**_Reaching for the dragon gave him the same result, and together they blocked him from reaching the pool of energy that was the Blessing.  
With no other choice he watched her walk up to the woman and place a clawed hand over the still flat belly for a moment before digging them in deep.  
“Em, no! They are innocent!”  
He tried to use command to get her to back of but she sensed the build of his aura before he had a chance to.

“ **Silence!** ”  
Again he tried to free himself from her but he just didn't have the reserves while she was pretty much supercharged.  
When he noticed the tiny flickers of life begin to move his struggles abated and as he watched, Emelie pulled them clear of the mother's body and wrapped them in her aura, moments later her serpent moved down and carefully opened its jaws wide.  
_“Em, what are you doing?!”  
“I'm not entirely sure, but I know it's the right thing to do. Now keep quiet and trust me will you.”  
_

There was a slight hurt tone being relayed by the serpent that instantly silenced him as he realized she was right, while she always trusted him he had displayed a lack of trust she had done nothing to deserve, sinking down to the floor he watched silently as the serpent swallowed the tiny souls and he could see them move down its body.  
When it began to lay two eggs he finally began to understand what she was doing, this way the souls of the unborn girls would not be prevented from being born, they would not have to die along with their mother, instead they would hatch as Blessed creatures and could stay close to their older sisters.  
He slowly stood up and moved up to her side to hold the small eggs while she burned the blood from her claws, moments later she took the eggs away from him and dropped them into her cleavage where the serpent lay coiled.

“ _Dammit. I'm sorry Em, you didn't deserve that.”  
“No, I didn't.”_  
He flinched at the chill in her aura as it rejected the touch of his own, he would have a lot to make up for after this but now was not the time, pushing the strong urge to redeem himself aside for the moment he focused on their targets.  
It was a great relief when he felt her tail wrap back around his wrist, she was still rejecting his aura but at least it gave him hope that the damage wasn't too severe.  
Taking their time they meted out raw vengeance, harsh justice and cold, hard, death.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

As they were heading back Emelie could feel Takeshi's aura reaching out for her trying to re-establish their usual contact but she continued to reject him, it had hurt when he tried to stop her, even more so that he had tried to use _command_ on her rather than trusting her.  
She knew the true reason for him trying to stop her, he was worried she had lost control of her demon side and that she would kill while influenced by it and end up regretting her actions later, but it still hurt that he couldn't trust her.  
“Em, please...”  
He all but begged but she ignored him, rejected his touch.

“Have I ever given you reason to believe that I would just lose control?”  
She snapped at him after a long silence.  
“No.”  
His answer was short and to the point, there really was nothing else to say, anything else would just be excuses.  
“Look, I know why you did it. I know the problems you have staying in control when that shadow beast of yours really wants something, or is pissed off.”  
He just nodded that he was listening.  
“But it's different for me, I **AM** the demon, it's not a separate part that I need to fight to stay in control. The influence of the power and instincts might make my temper flare a bit higher. My succubus nature will drive my libido up the walls when I'm tired or injured.”  
Giving a slight flare of her aura she allowed him to feel her again.  
“But it's still me, only me! I would never just kill an innocent child no matter how strong the influence of my power!”

As she got out of her seat she turned her back on him and he could see the tension in her back and she stood silently for a long time, her aura coiled tightly before her shoulders suddenly dropped and her aura washed over him.  
“It hurt that you thought I could...”  
There was a lot of pain and disappointment in her aura and he was prepared for her to reject him again but then he picked up on something else underneath, understanding, forgiveness and her ever present trust.  
He quickly got out of his seat and wrapped his arms around her, there were no words that could express his regret for having hurt her, however unintentionally, or his gratitude for her understanding and forgiveness, all he could do was let her feel him, and hopefully feel just what he wanted to tell her.

After a few minutes she finally turned around and buried her face into his chest and he could feel her aura settling down to its normal patterns.  
“ _Gomen ne._ ”  
Slowly stroking her hair he tried to calm her, and himself, down further  
“There is so much I don't know or understand about being a demon. I can't promise I won't make more mistakes because of that, but I will try not to...”  
“I know. Now just shut up and hold me...”  
He gladly did as she asked.

When they landed back at the island they were met by Kasumi and the girls, and the twins instantly rushed to their side and begged to be picked up.  
“Why are you so sad?”  
Maria was sniffling slightly as she clung to to Takeshi's neck.  
“I'm sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to make you sad too.”  
It had quickly become obvious that the twins were empaths, instantly picking up on the pain of others, both physical and psychological, and they showed a strong urge to try to soothe the pain to make it go away.  
“But why?”  
She kept asking for the reason and after a quick deliberation with Emelie as to how much they should tell them, and agreeing to tell them the entire truth, just without details, he began to explain.

“It's several things, we had to do some hard things today, make a hard choice. And I also unintentionally hurt Em's feelings and that makes me very sad.”  
“What did you do to Emmy!?”  
Both of them were instantly glaring at him.  
“I didn't trust her...”  
The scolding that followed actually made him bow his head to them in shame, feeling that he deserved it.  
“Girls, that's enough. I have already forgiven him.”  
“Why?”  
“Because I understand why he did it. And it was just as much, if not even more, that he doesn't fully trust himself. Remember the demon he has inside him?”  
They both nodded, but still sent glares Takeshi's way.  
“When it's really angry, or wants something really badly, it can take over his body and make him do things he doesn't want to, and he was afraid the same thing had happened to me.”  
“What happened?”  
After a quick exchange of looks Takeshi took a deep breath, he would be the one to tell them.

“We located your birth parents.”  
The instant surge of fear made Emelie wrap her wings around them and gently coo at them.  
“It's okay, they can't hurt you.”  
“We went to make sure they could never hurt anyone again.”  
“Are they dead?”  
Sarah's question held a hint of hope.  
“They are.”  
“Good!”  
Both of them stated with a harsh tone.  
“Was it hard? To kill them?”  
“No, it wasn't. Not with the way they hurt you.”  
“So what was hard?”  
“Your birth mother, she was pregnant again, with twins.”  
“Oh, you had to kill our siblings...”  
There was a sad note in Maria's voice as she hugged Sarah who was silent, but Takeshi was surprised once again at how they would often show an understanding that was far beyond their years.  
“We thought we would have to choose between killing them as well, or letting that woman live, but Em found another way.”

Emelie carefully brought the eggs out and showed them to the twins, and explained she had been able to save the souls of their unborn sisters and that when they were ready they would hatch, that way they could live, even if not as human girls.  
“We will take care of them!”  
“Easy there girls, first they need to mature and hatch, and we don't even know what kind of creature they will become.”  
“Doesn't matter, they will be our sisters!”  
Takeshi and Emelie both smiled at the absolute determination of the twins.  
“We will make an incubator for them down in the basement where they will be safe.”  
“Okay...”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Life on the island quickly settled down into something that was deceptively _normal_ , but there was a constant undercurrent of tension and anticipation as the adults waited for the bomb they set to blow.

“Take, can we have pizza tonight?”  
“Well Manda, it would have to be home made pizza if that's okay. A bit hard to get delivery out here.”  
His quip about delivery made her laugh and agree that homemade was good enough, though, Takeshi did take the time to check the web for recipes and instruction for how to make a good pizza.  
And while the end result did get a thumbs up from the girls they also agreed that he could do with a few lessons with a proper pizza baker to learn how to do it properly.  
He would be more than happy to sign up for a course though, not only did he enjoy learning new things, we would very much enjoy making them happy by learning how to make _real_ pizza.

“Anne, you are not getting dessert unless you have at least one serving of vegetables that is not cucumber or lettuce.”  
Takeshi scolded gently, at times it was a bit of a struggle to make sure the girls ate properly, he was relieved though that none of them insisted on anything too odd, or wanted to eat vegan or something equally crazy.  
“Can I have peppers?”  
“Of course, do you want sweet peppers or something with a bit of bite? And red, yellow, or maybe green ones?”  
She quickly settled for red bell peppers, but the twins wanted to try the slightly hotter ones that Takeshi grew to make stuffed peppers.  
He was very happy with how eager the twins were to try new things, and he was silently praying that it would be a permanent trait of theirs, especially since it made the others more open to testing new and different food as well.

It was a bit of a struggle to keep life on the island as normal as possible, while the girls had their lessons and were settling in nicely there was a constant undercurrent of nervous anticipation.  
They could feel that the adults of the house were waiting for the moment when all their hard work finally would bear fruit, and while they waited Takeshi and Emelie put quite a lot of work into training, making sure to keep their skills from rusting.

“Come on sweetie show me what you got.”  
Takeshi taunted Emelie with a grin, encouraging her to try harder to knock him off balance and frustrated shriek that answered him was a good indicator that her next attack would probably succeed, and hurt quite a bit.  
Moments later a pair of clawed fed connected with his back, sending him crashing into the the sand and momentarily knocking the breath out of him, but her slight hesitation to go in for the kill gave him time enough to recover and roll to the side before her bladed tail could wrap around his neck.  
“Hesitation kills.”  
He grabbed her tail and pulled hard, causing her to crash into the ground rather roughly before pouncing on her and pinning her to the ground and leaning in to give the base of her wings a quick kiss, symbolically showing her he could just as easily have sunk his fangs in instead.

“Take, Em, could you teach me a bit about how to fight?”  
Melissa had been watching them spar for a while and once Emelie surrendered with Takeshi's reminder that he could have taken her flight she spoke up.  
“Of course. I'm hoping to get the opportunity to teach all of you. You will need some special lessons though, to train on your own with me, Em or Sumi-ane to learn to control your strength.”  
She sighed rather heavily, but nodded nonetheless, she was having a hard time adjusting to her change.  
“I'm sorry Lissa, it was the only way I could save your life. If I could I would have taken the time to teach you all about it first.”  
Takeshi opened his arms to her, hoping that she would accept his offer, his request, to hold her.  
“I know. It's just... It's a lot. And I'm not upset, not really... It's just so frustrating sometimes.”  
She hesitated for a while as she spoke, but then suddenly she threw herself into his arms with a strangled sob.

“Please, I don't want to be weak!”  
The way she cried into his chest made Takeshi tighten his arms around her and gently rub her back in soothing circles, trying to get her to calm down.  
“Lissa, sweetie, you are **not** weak . You have been through hell and you have decided to survive. You may lack in skill, but you are strong, you are a survivor.”  
“Can you teach me to be strong like you and Em...”  
“I will teach you to find your own power. How to protect yourself, and others. How to make use of your strength and your mind.”  
Despite his efforts to try to soothe and calm her her crying became increasingly pained, an he could hear Emelie ushering the other girls back to the house, telling them that Melissa needed some time to herself.

“ _Take care of her, I will look after the others.”_  
Emelie's familiar carried her words to him and he gently shifted Melissa into a more comfortable position before answering.  
_“I will, she needs to get through this, and I doubt it will be the last time she breaks down, and the others will no doubt do the same. They are starting to feel safe now, and that means they are finally allowing themselves to feel again.”_

All the girls carried various degree of trauma, and it was hard to determine how bad it was as several of them showed signs of psychogenic amnesia and PTSD which was not such a strange thing considering what they had been through, but Takeshi had good hopes that they would be able to get them through it.  
They were still young and hopefully a safe environment and the opportunity to grow and develop their own strengths would allow them to heal and move past the trauma.  
He would of course consult an expert if needed, but for now he settled for being there for them, offering a safe haven, and a shoulder to cry on.

“Oh no, I totally messed up your shirt...”  
She sniffled a few times and blushed when she noticed the wet blotch on Takeshi's Gi-top  
“Don't worry Lissa, it needs to be washed anyway.”  
“But still, I was totally blubbering and getting snot all over your clothes...”  
“Indeed you did, but you feel a bit better now, don't you?”  
“Yeah... A little.”  
“Then it's all good.”  
Takeshi teased her lightly before helping her on her feet and ushering her back toward the house.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Diane, can you give me three different words for something very big please?”  
“Umm... Huge, gigantic and... Hmm... Enormous?”  
“That's good, can you think of any others?”  
“Humongous?”  
“That's not really a proper word, but okay.”  
Takeshi was just about to list a few other synonyms for Diane to look up and learn how to spell when the door to the conference room that was used as a classroom flew open with a bang and Emelie came bolting inside.  
“Take, it's going down!”  
Her rather sudden entrance startled the girls and the lessons were instantly forgotten as she quickly began putting up multiple stations on the large screen and they were all displaying _Breaking News!_ about the GCTI, every country had the news on some channel or another.  
A quick check on the computer showed it to be the top search on every major search engine, topping the active up- and downloads on every major torrent and file-share site.  
They quickly moved to Takeshi's study where they kept watch over the situation as it developed, police all over the world were hitting GCTI locations, arresting officers, securing files and equipment.

One of the stations was showing a reporter outside a large military facility where a massive operation was going down.

 _-”This is Emberman for Channel 8 news taking you live to the San Diego Naval Station where a joint operation between the FBI and the US Special Forces are finishing up a major operation.”_  
The anchor approached a masked soldier while holding out her microphone.  
_-”Sergeant, can you tell our viewers anything about what is going on here?”  
_ The soldier was clearly special forces and Takeshi was curious to see how he would reply.  
_-”We have successfully taken down one of the major centers of corruption inside the US section of the GCTI, apprehending a number of high ranking members behind the heinous crimes perpetrated by the corrupt organization.”  
_ Takeshi was a bit surprised at how readily the soldier spoke.  
_-”So what will happen next?”  
-”The prisoners will be taken to a holding facility pending transportation to Guantanamo bay where they will be put on trial for their crimes.”_  
Now Takeshi was suspicious, there was no way such info would have been revealed to a reporter, something was clearly being planned in the background.

“ _Chi!”_  
The hissed out word made Emelie turn to Takeshi, it may not have sounded like much, but she knew it was short for _chikushou_ , meaning son of a bitch, which was unusually crude language for him.  
Over the years she had learned that Takeshi almost never cursed or used crude language in such a way, he did sometimes use double meanings in a teasing way, like when he had told her to bite him when she teased him after her change.  
Seeing Matthews being dragged into one of the armored transports made Takeshi curse to himself and the commentary from the special forces soldier made him follow up with a string of curses in several languages.

“Take, what's wrong?”  
“It's Matthews! They are planting him as a scapegoat. We need to get him out of there before he ends up dead.”  
Emelie just nodded and headed toward their room to change her clothes, Takeshi may not have mentioned it in any way, and she doubted he would admit it even if she asked, but she knew he cared for the old soldier like a father.  
As she left she dropped by the conference room t let Kasumi and the girls know that she and Takeshi would leave to pick up a friend.

“Sumi, what's happening?”  
Carol was clearly worried.  
“The police and others are arresting the bad people who helped those who hurt you girls, but someone has told them lies so a good person is being arrested as well. Take and Em are going to save him so he's not hurt because of what others have done and lied about.”  
“Oh, okay. Hope they get there in time.”  
“So do I”  
_So do I_ , she repeated silently to herself like a prayer, knowing it would be a devastating blow to Takeshi if taking down the GCTI cost Matthews his life.

Less than 5 minutes later the Blackout was taking off and this time Takeshi pushed it to the limit, confident that Emelie would have no problems handling it.  
“There's no time for subtlety this time.”  
He tossed her a small package which turned out to contain a mask that fitted her perfectly, it even took the horns of her full demon form into consideration.  
“I made that for you a while back, thankfully you have never needed it before. But this time there's just no time to make sure we don't get caught on cameras.”  
She quickly placed the mask over her face and could feel a slight stirring of power in it and as she released her demonic form she could feel it attaching around the base of her horns, there was no way it would come loose unless she wanted it to.  
“What about you? Won't there be quite a few out there who might recognize you?”  
With a grin he pulled out a black cloth package which, when unwrapped, revealed itself to be a feral looking black kitsune mask and a matching hood.  
“Doubt many will recognize me like this.” _  
_

It had been many years since last he wore the Shozoku, and the mask was one of many items he had crafted himself during his seclusion in Alaska. _  
“_ I will, always.”  
Her tail uncurled and wrapped around his wrist, a small flare of her power triggering a response from his aura.  
“When we get there we won't be able to land so we will have to get down on our own, and it would be very useful if you could carry Matthews back up to the Blackout, you okay with that?”  
“As long as he keeps still I'll be fine, it's not like he could possibly be heavier than **you** .”

He huffed at her quip about his weight, as a side effect of his training in combination with how the youki from the dragon had affected him, his body was a lot denser than that of a normal person and the addition of the Blessing had enhanced the effect making him weigh nearly twice as much as a normal person his size would.

“Don't worry, if necessary we will just knock him out, better a headache than dead.”  
She just nodded for him to continue.  
“Now, I need you to focus on getting to Matthews and getting him out of there and I will focus on making sure no one gets in our way.”  
“In other words you don't want me stuck with a tough choice if things go sideways, and if someone, like a cop, ends up dead it's by your claws, not mine.”  
He didn't bother responding, she was right and they both knew it.  
Instead he focused on making sure the autopilot was properly calibrated for prolonged hovering.  
“Okay, we'll reach the holding facility in 5 minutes, you ready?”  
Her answer came in the form of a pulse of cold power and when he turned his head to look she had pulled out the entire form of the succubus, complete with the spiked, armor like layer of dark power and a fanged grin vanishing behind the mask he had just given her.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

When they closed in on their target Takeshi set the systems to maximum defensive parameters before setting the autopilot to circle around and hover.  
“Okay Em, let's go. And please, be careful down there, those idiots tend to be trigger-happy.”  
“I will.”  
A moment later she vanished out the open door and he went out behind her, instantly trading his current form for that of the peregrine, below him he could feel Emelie's power build as she dropped, her wings were still folded tightly and he knew from their training sessions that she would unfold them at the very last moment and when she did she would at the same time unleash a shock-wave of her built up power, sending anyone nearby into total panic, if not outright overloading their senses and knocking them out.  
His own entrance, a falcon suddenly turning into a man dressed as a ninja would probably cause similar reactions, fear, confusion and general chaos.

Once she touched down Emelie ran towards the holding area with her wings unfurled, displaying all her demonic traits for everyone to see, and as she walked up to the holding area she raised her voice.  
**“The monsters of GCTI murdered my mother and her friends to hide their dirty secrets, it's time they suffer and die for their crimes!”  
**Lashing out with wings and tail she tore the heavy security gate to shreds and stepped inside, walking past several of the cages before locating Matthews and making quick work of the door to his cage.  
“You need to pretend to resist, but once I pick you off the ground you have to keep still or I might drop you”  
She whispered as she grabbed him, careful no to hurt him with her claws.  
“They are planning to use you as a scapegoat, painting you as one of the top men. We have to get you out.”  
He only gave her a slight nod while feigning resistance as she dragged him towards the open yard where they had entered, meanwhile Takeshi took a quick look in the cages and spotted a few of the GCTI that was on his list over those responsible for, or willingly aiding, GCTI's wrongdoings.  
Stepping up the the cages he drew the Ryuken and simply sliced through bars and all to take the heads of his targets.

“Keep still!”  
Emelie hissed to Matthews as she gathered her power to give her the lift she needed to be able to take flight with the added load, but halfway to the Blackout she almost dropped him anyway as several bullets ripped through the webbing of her wings, she could feel more bullets being vaporized by her power armor at the same time.  
She must have cried out or maybe the fluctuation in her power when she channeled it to repair the damage alerted Takeshi, because she could hear a furious howl from below her and the startled scream from the shooter that was instantly cut off.

Takeshi was just about to shift and head back to the Blackout when he heard Emelie's pained shriek and felt her energy fluctuate and carry pain over the bond that had formed when he claimed her as pack.  
For a moment his mind went blank, all that existed was the need to protect her, to avenge her pain and make sure the one who had hurt her could never do so again and the beast within called out for blood, for death and he was more than happy to give in.  
Appearing in front of the guard that had fired at Emelie he felt bullets rip into his abdomen as the soldier pulled the trigger with a panicked scream that was instantly cut short and replaced by a wet gurgling sound as Takeshi used inhuman strength to rip his head clean from the body.  
Tossing the head aside in a decidedly casual manner he abandoned his human form and by the time the body hit the ground with a thump Takeshi was already high in the sky, chasing after Emelie and her passenger.

Moments later Emelie stumbled into the Blackout and she could feel the wash of power behind her as Takeshi transformed back to his human form and in a flurry of movement he unlocked the autopilot.  
“Matthews, get us out of here! I have to check on Em, she was hit.”  
Then his aura swept through her and his hands were checking every centimeter of her body for damage.  
“Easy Take, I'm fine, nothing important was hit, the bullets never got through my armor, only the wing membranes were damaged. I'm just a bit drained from fixing the holes that idiot put in my wings. But look, no more holes.”  
She held out her wings so he could see that they were fully healed.  
“Just give me some of that energy of yours when we get back and I'll be fine”.  
She leaned in, tracing light kisses along his jaw and throat as she slowly increased her _seduction_ in an attempt to calm him down but just as he began to settle several alarms went off and Matthews called from the pilot's seat.  
“Hey kid! You need to take the controls, we he have drones incoming and I'm no fighter pilot!”  
With a curse Takeshi jumped up front and took the controls from Matthews before calling out to Emelie to take the co-pilot's seat.  
“See if you can get rid of a few of those, we don't want to get tagged.”

The Blackout didn't carry any heavy weapons, only a small selection of defensive armaments, the main weapon was an array of mirrors and lenses connected to a high output laser generator that was capable of neutralizing missiles and small crafts, like the drones now on their tail, but it would have little effect against an actual fighter jet.  
The drones that were following them at the moment were remote controlled using visual tracking and the operators were trying to attach electronic tags that would render the Blackout's stealth systems useless, allow them to be tracked by radar and make it easy for any jets sent after them to find them.  
Bringing the HUD online revealed over 20 targets converging on them making Emelie hiss out a curse.  
“I'm on it. Can you get me a bit of extra juice for the emitters? I might need to hit more than one target at a time.”  
“I'll try, but these cursed things are fast and agile, we're gonna need most of the power for the engines and I can't risk cutting back on any of the stealth-systems.”  
“Better stay on our toes then.”  
Reaching out she wrapped her aura around him, her aura would instinctively react to the information on the screens and that would tell Takeshi where he needed to go without them having to waste time on verbal communication.

Takeshi was glad he had spent all those hours teaching Emelie how to use the Blackout's weapon systems and even more hours over the years running endless simulations because she was making quick work of the drones tailing them and a few minutes later she called out.  
“Clear!”  
“Damn, you got one hell of a RIO there. Don't think I've ever seen anyone take out a swarm of painters that fast.”  
Matthews got out of his seat and moved up to the pilot's seat.  
“Now how about you get your ass out of that seat and let her dig those bullets out of your gut before you end up with 'em healed stuck in you?”  
“What?”  
Emelie instantly spun around and nailed Takeshi with a glare.  
“He might not be bleeding, but I saw him take a few hits. Doubt it's serious for **him** , but it can't be good to have those rounds still in there when the wounds start to heal.”  
Matthews filled her in and Takeshi folded under her demanding glare.  
“Well, that idiot that put holes in your wings got lucky and managed to put a few in me when I took him out...”  
He tried to downplay the damage, but she was having none of it.  
“Move it! On the floor!”  
“Hai hai, Miss bedside manners.”  
He huffed as he got out of the seat and lay down on his back with a slight groan, the movement pulling on the still open wounds.  
Matthews was right though, he needed to get the bullets out before he could allow the wounds to heal, so he had been using his power to keep it from bleeding while forcefully preventing it from healing.

“Dammit Take, I thought those spider-silk clothes of yours were supposed to be bulletproof.”  
She pulled away the top of his Shozoku to gain access to the wounds in his stomach and chest.  
“Well, they are, as long as you don't get hit point blank by armor piercing rounds. Kinda wish they weren't right now, if they hadn't been those shots would have been clean through and throughs instead of ending up stuck in my gut.”  
“Why don't you just borrow the hide and scales of that overgrown lizard of yours instead?”  
She dug around in the first-aid kit trying to find something to get the bullets, but finding nothing suitable.  
“Heh, maybe I should, but you know, you really shouldn't call her that, she takes it out on me.”  
He watched as Emelie tossed the kit to the side with a muttered curse.  
“If you plan on getting shot again you better put some grasping forceps in this sad excuse of a kit!”  
She complained as she extended her nails and burned them clean with raw power then dug them into one of the wounds to try to get the bullet.  
“Now, if I did that I wouldn't get the _pleasure_ of your oh so _tender_ care.”  
He bit out as her claws dug around for the bullet, it hurt a lot worse than getting shot had.  
“Stop complaining, it's in pretty damn deep.”  
She paused for a moment trying to figure out a better way to get to the bullets.

After a while she took the serpent from her arm and instructed it to straighten its body out and make it a lot slimmer, once she was satisfied with its size she pushed it into the hole and once it reached the bullet it opened its mouth and bit into the bullet, allowing her to pull it out.  
As the bullet came out it brought with it quite a bit of blood and Takeshi quickly explained to keep her calms.  
“It's okay, I have been using my power to keep it from bleeding, but with the bullet out allowing it to bleed a bit will help clean out the wound before I heal it up.”  
As he spoke the first wound closed up without a trace.  
Emelie just nodded and moved on to the other bullets, once all the bullets were gone and the wounds closed up she acted on a strong urge from her demonic instincts and began to lick away the blood from his skin.

“ _Em?”_  
Takeshi questioned silently but she just ignored him and kept going.  
“Em, please. Damn!”  
He half hissed, half panted as the sensation of her cleaning the blood from his wounds lit a fire in him unlike anything her _seduction_ ever had.  
_**“Instincts.”**_  
Came the silent response, but it was the serpents own words, not hers.  
“Okay kids, you need to get a room.”  
Matthews teased as he obviously picked up on Takeshi's state of mind from the strain in his voice.  
When he was utterly ignored he shook his head and mumbled to himself about today's kids and their total lack of inhibitions as the scene behind him turned carnal.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With the hostile drones taken care of it didn't take long before they arrived at the island, much to Takeshi's and Emelie's frustration as they did not want to stop what they were doing, but alas, they had little choice.  
“We need to get cleaned up and change out of these bloody clothes, will you be okay to find your way up to the house yourself?”  
Matthews snorted at Takeshi's word, making it quite clear he didn't believe a shower and a change of clothes was at the top of their priorities, but he quickly turned serious after looking inland and seeing no trace of their home.  
“I'm not sure, it's kinda dark. Is it far?”  
“It's a bit of a walk. But don't worry the path is lit, just let me turn it on.”

Takeshi allowed his aura to expand slightly, triggering the outdoor lights of the island, originally they had installed some pretty basic solar lamp posts, but after making the sanctuary crystal lights for Julia and the other girls they had insisted that they make _Magic Lights_ for the walkways that connected the house with the other parts of the island.  
As a result the walkways were now lit by a mix of mushrooms and other plants and Takeshi had plans to rip up the pathways and redo them with sanctuary crystal gravel to make them glow in the dark.  
They had used stones that had been unearthed by the ground preparation work to make something similar to cobblestone paths, they needed paths that could weather frequent travel and not wash away in the monsoon season.  
The Mother had agreed to protect their island from the worst weather, but the ecosystem of the island needed the monsoon rains to remain in balance, they refilled the supply of fresh water and gave many animals and plants the proper conditions needed for reproduction.  
They did of course destroy things as well, mudslides, tree's getting knocked down and such, but all that gave room for other species to thrive just as how some species could only live and thrive in the aftermath of forest fires.

“Now that's neat. Odd, but neat. Gives a bit of a _don't stray from the path_ vibe though.”  
Matthews leaned down to inspect a cluster of brightly glowing mushrooms that had became even brighter as he approached them and they would dim again as he moved away from them.  
“Don't worry, other than the risk of getting lost and tripping in the dark the island is safe, there are no dangerous animals here.”  
“Other than you and Sumi-chan that is?”  
Matthews light teasing was a good sign that he wasn't too badly shook up by the events of the day.  
“Mhm...”  
Takeshi just agreed with a grin that earned him a harrumph and a slap on the arm from Emelie.  
“And my dear Em of course.”

The moment Matthews entered the forest path Emelie turned around and pounced Takeshi again, this time not bothering to be gentle, instead she tore at his clothes and before long they were abandoned in a pile on the ground and joined by her own clothes before she meticulously licked the blood from his body.  
This time he gave in and returned the favor, though most of the blood on her was his own apart from transfer from the blood of the guard and a few drops on her wings from where she got shot, but neither of them cared as they allowed themselves to be taken over by instinct, an instinct to get rid of the blood and make sure there were no more injuries.

“Ah, Commander Matthews, welcome!”  
Kasumi greeted Matthews at the simple hedge that marked the edge of the front garden.  
“Just Thomas, I'm no Commander no more, not after today.”  
Despite his somewhat solemn words he was practically beaming as he greeted her with a hug.  
“The others should be in later, I swear they're like rabbits, totally shameless those two, left the flying to me in favor of going at it like a couple of hormone ridden teens in the back of daddy's car.”  
“They are. But they usually wait until they have landed, did Em get hurt by any chance?”  
“Yeah, how did you know?”  
“She's a succubus, healing takes a lot of energy out of her and the fastest way for her to recover that is lots of sex.”  
“Well, she did mention some idiot putting holes in her wings but I couldn't see any damage. Honestly, Takeshi seemed to be in worse shape, he had a bunch of bullets in his guts.”

Kasumi froze for a moment and Matthews instantly regretted his words.  
“Ah sorry, they don't seem to make filters big enough for this old mouth of mine anymore.”  
“Don't worry, I would be able to feel it if he had been seriously hurt, a few bullets are little more than an annoyance nowadays.”  
“Still, I should have put that better, I never was very good at dealing with families...”  
“It's okay, just don't slip up in front of the girls, they will both string you up if you worry them.”  
“Girls?”  
He was confused for a moment before remembering the girls they had rescued, and it was confirmed when Kasumi opened the door and a swarm of girls ran to greet them.  
“Oh, it's just you. Who _are_ you?”  
The twins were the first to reach them and the first to voice their disappointment at not finding the expected pair.  
“Why am I not surprised they are all still here?”  
He whispered to Kasumi before greeting the girls.  
“Hello ladies, I'm Thomas, and I'm a friend of Takeshi's.”  
He introduced himself with a big smile and was instantly shot down by the twins.  
“Sumi, the old dude is kinda creepy.”  
“I remember you! You were at that place when they were gonna sell us!”  
Julia's harsh words instantly had the others glaring at him.

“Now, now girls. That's not very nice, He's one of the good guys.”  
“Then what was he doing there?”  
“I was there to try to gather information for Take to make sure he would be able to stop those bad people from hurting others, ever again.”  
Matthews explained with a patient tone, he didn't take offense to their suspicion.  
“If he's a good guy then why is he here and not Emmy and Take?”  
The twins cared little for his words though.  
“Em and Take has a few things they need to take care of first, they will join us later, so how about we go and prepare some food? You know Take is always hungry.”  
The younger girls nodded while the older snickered, obviously aware of just what they were up to.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

A few hours later when Takeshi and Emelie finally joined the others in the inner garden most of the girls had fallen asleep in the pile of pillows that had been piled up in one of the gazebos and the ones that were still awake just waved and went back to dozing off.  
“The girls all helped make food for you.”  
Kasumi's voice held a slight edge, scolding them without actually saying anything for not hurrying back to let the girls see they were okay.  
Her words were somewhat superfluous though as the pair made a beeline for the pile of sleeping bodies the moment they entered, gently nudging each of the girls to let them know they were safe.

“Ssh, it's okay. Were okay. Thank you for all the nice food.”  
Takeshi gently soothed the twins after waking them as promised.  
“I was scared...”  
“It's okay sweetie, we're okay. You can go back to sleep now.”

They would have preferred to just let them sleep, but they had promised to at least say hello to them when they got back and the girls would no doubt be very upset in the morning if the neglected to do so, and since there was no real harm in waking them up Takeshi would not do something that could tarnish their trust in him and Emelie.  
If the disturbed sleep left them sleepy they would simply be allowed to sleep in a bit.

“Why didn't you come right away?”  
There was a deep concern in Sarah's voice so Takeshi settled down next to her and she instantly scooted closer.  
“We had to fight to free Matthews, and we did get a few scrapes and our clothes were a bit filthy, so we needed to get them taken care of, get cleaned up and change clothes.”  
The version that Sarah received was toned down, Melissa and Amanda would be told the truth though as they had showed that they were mature enough to understand and handle the truth.  
Once she had checked to confirm as best as she could that he was indeed okay it didn't take long before she fell asleep and he carefully untangled himself and nudged her closer to her sister so they could comfort each-other.

After making sure the girls were comfortable and safe they headed into Takeshi's study to talk and review all the available information about the day's events.  
It was no surprise that the details about their little breakout were edited, according to the press conference the guard that Takeshi had killed was the sole perpetrator, the story said that he had lost it, gunned down several of the prisoners before being shot himself by the other guards.

“It's a shame, he was only doing his job and they are making him a scapegoat, painting him like some kind of trigger-happy psycho.”  
Emelie wasn't entirely comfortable with how the guard was being portrayed by the media.  
“We could try to put out a bit of a spin ourselves. Maybe rumors of temporary insanity out of fear that these monsters would somehow manage to use the lingering corruption to get away. People are suckers for tales like that.”  
Matthews's words made Emelie hum and nod, and soon Takeshi agreed that they would try to do something to redeem the honor of the guard he had killed, and give some kind of restitution to his family.  
“Don't beat yourself up kid, you had little choice.”  
Matthews scolded lightly.  
“I could have knocked him out. I didn't have to kill him.”  
“No, you couldn't. Not with everything you have been through. You value your loved ones far too much. And even I can tell that losing her would destroy you.”  
The sudden turn of the conversation made Takeshi huff and flash his fangs at Matthews, he wasn't comfortable with the topic of his feelings for Emelie.  
Matthews wasn't the least bit intimidated though, but he did drop the topic, but Takeshi had a feeling it was only temporary.  
“I wonder what the reports the media won't ever see says..?”  
“Well sweetie, why don't we see if D can help us find out?”  
Carefully allowing his power to rise Takeshi searched inside for the remnant of Daniels and it responded eagerly to his touch, telling him she would gladly lend her skill to the task.

After quite a bit of creative hacking they looked at several internal reports and memos, most of them confused, no one understanding just what they had seen, the others were pretty much demanding that all and any information about the incident be buried forever lest they look like lunatics.  
“You kids did one hell of a number on 'em. But I gotta say, if you hadn't shown me some of that weird shit over the years I would have thought I lost it when I saw her tear down the gate. I've seen the tail before but this was something else.”  
“Isn't it about time you stop calling me kid? I'm 40 this year...”  
Takeshi complained in good humor.  
“And you don't look a day over 25, so kid it is.”  
As the night moved on more and more reports became available, detailing the total downfall of the GCTI, indictments were filed against a large number of key personnel and a special task-force was being put together to hunt down many of the underground backers using information recovered from various GCTI sites.

“There is no way they will be able to get all of them though.”  
Takeshi agreed with Matthews's assessment, there were names on his list that had too much power, too much money, making them virtually untouchable, many of them would also be very hard to find.  
“There are still names on my list that I have no doubt will be able to evade this. And I will not suffer any of them to get away.”  
“I know you won't. If the authorities can't get them, you will hunt them down and kill them. And I have a feeling you will make sure a few of those that have been caught will end up dead as well.”  
“I will.”  
Takeshi didn't bother denying it, or sugarcoating things, at least not with the adults in his household.  
The girls would be told that they were helping make sure none of the bad-guys got away, the older would no doubt understand what that meant though, but as far as he could tell none of them objected to a very final solution to make sure others were not hurt the way they had been.

“Take, could you go get the leftovers?”  
Emelie's request made him raise an eyebrow at her, she usually didn't ask him to do things she could just as easily do herself but the worried look she gave him made him give in.  
She was clearly picking up on his tension and wanted him to take a few minutes away from the screens to calm down.  
“Of course sweetie. Want me to make some fresh rice to go with it?”  
“Please.”

“ _Take! You need to see this!”_

He had just moved the rice from the steamer to the _Ohitsu_ , the traditional cypress rice container, when he heard the silent calls from both Emelie and Kasumi so he hurried back to the study, and there on the screen was a number of very familiar files and photos, they were telling the story of him and his unit, how they had been blackmailed into service, the things they had been forced to do, and finally how they had been killed.  
They spoke of how the information they had gathered from the inside had been instrumental in the final downfall of the GCTI and finally the broadcaster announced that the President had decided to posthumously award the entire unit with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their actions to take down the corrupt organization and that the award would be presented on 4  th  of July the next year along with a memorial monument to those killed by the GCTI's actions.

As the reporter's voice faded away Takeshi could feel the burn in the Sayuri as the remaining souls left and the spirits fused with his own soul.  
“It's over. It's finally over, they are at peace.”  
His voice a mere whisper as he placed his hand over his heart and the four flowers forever emblazoned in his skin.  
“Did they...?”  
Emelie turned to him but hesitated and never finished her question but he knew what she was asking.  
“They did, they are all still with me.”  
There was no mistaking the emotion in his voice and Emelie quickly pulled his hand and clothes away to reveal the now slightly altered flowers, placing her hand over them she let her aura flow against them.  
“Thank you, all of you, for staying with him.”  
She could feel a slight push in return before Takeshi leaned in and pulled her close.  
“You were right, they all chose to stay. But it will take some time before I will be able to manifest them beyond what you felt.”  
“How come? You haven't had any problems before.”  
“Remember, the soul is the source of the power for the body and spirit. Now that the souls have all moved on it's my soul that feeds all of us, and it will take some getting used the drain of manifesting their spirits.”  
“Oh, I see.”  
Placing her hand back over the flowers she leaned in and whispered.  
“Don't worry, I'm sure he will get strong enough to sustain all of you in no time. He's too stubborn for anything else.”  
The whispered words make Takeshi and Kasumi smile, which had Matthews grumble and ask what was so amusing as he had been unable to hear it, but once filled in he fully agreed with Emelie.

“Em, you should go to the presentation and receive your mother's award.”  
As the reports had begun to just repeat the same old information Takeshi's focus had drifted back to Emelie, and what had been said about him and the unit.  
“I'll consider it. But what about you? Will you reveal that you are still alive? Go there and receive yours?”  
“I will, but not for myself. Shani and Luis have no living relatives to receive theirs and D wouldn't want her family to have hers if they even bother to show up.”  
She shivered when he leaned in and his breath brushed against her ear as he spoke.  
“How about we retire and get those reserves of yours topped up?”  
A nibble at her ear rewarded him with the oh so familiar peppermint before they both vanished out the door at record speed.

 

 


End file.
